Streets of Rage - Beginnings
by ghostwriterpleiedes
Summary: Wood Oak City is a violent, corrupt place with the syndicate expanding its territory. Three officers on the force can make a difference in fighting the enemy but they must also battle their own personal demons and differences with each other if they have any hope in succeeding...
1. Introduction

_**Disclaimer**_

 ** _This is my first ever written piece and fan fiction. It has been a pleasure to write- most of the time the words come out and the story happens in my imagination as I am writing each chapter._**

 ** _For me, this isn't for money or fame (please no one sue me- the characters and premise are created by Sega plus some extras I've added to the story). My moto in life is feed my soul first and if something is worth discovering like writing to do this, the time I spend doing it and discovering myself is more rewarding than a paycheque or recognition._**

 ** _So I hope you enjoy my first story. Like many others, I grew up playing the games as a kid and they were always special to me in life._**

* * *

 **Introduction**

He gazed over the edge of an empty bridge. Below he could see the still murky water, littered as if no one had crossed this derelict part of the city for months. As he gazed up, he could see the sun setting in the distance behind the sky scrapers that towered above Wood Oak City.

"Sammy, where you at?" An impatient voice shouted from the end of the bridge immediately snapping him away from his thoughts. "We need to be there by 8 and I can't have you fucking this up for us".

Slightly pissed off with the order, Sammy placed his skateboard on the floor and rode towards Kadeem. They had been best friends for the last four years since they started high school and always had each other's backs. Although Kadeem could be hot headed at times and on the wrong side of the law, he was always there for Sammy and helped him and accepted him into his group when he was bullied by other kids. Kadeem would never find anyone as loyal as Sammy.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Sammy before the pair continued their journey.

One hour later the boys reached their destination outside a row of abandoned warehouses overlooking the water. Sammy had been to many dangerous places before with Kadeem and could defend himself in any situation but this was unusually silent. His father and older brother had spent years teaching him martial arts. Before his passion for skate boarding, Sammy remembered wanting to be a boxing champion just like them. That was a long time ago… After his father died, Sammy lost interest in boxing and teenage life began to go off track.

"Whatever he says, don't say shit back" Kadeem continued with his orders. "Just hand over the bag when he asks you to". Within five minutes a black Mercedes with tinted windows pulls up in front of them with two men inside- the driver in his suit and another man out of view sitting at the back. This man, casually dressed in black jeans and a blue t shirt immediately gets out of the car. He is a young black male, in his late 20s that looks as if he has had his fair share of fights. The first thing you can notice is the scar going down one side of his face from his eye down to his jawline- probably a machete.

He walks over with a stern look on his face. "Yo Kadeem- thanks for transporting my shit". His serious demeanour turns into a smile as he greets Kadeem and they lock hands then hug. "Good to see you again bro. And hows the distribution these days?" Kadeem replies "its good! Great actually, were gonna need more supplies soon".

"Good work…. Who's this?" the man's gaze turns to Sammy. "This is my boy Sammy, he's helping me with the distro. Sammy this is our manager Donovan". Donovan walks over to Sammy suspiciously sizing him up before giving a nod. The boys proceed to hand over their two rucksacks to Donovan who quickly takes the opportunity to investigate some of the contents by pulling out a handful of cash. "Make sure its all there" Donovan hands over the order to the driver who has now stepped out of the car.

Kadeem enthusiastically blurts out "Any idea when the next load of supplies will be ready?" Donovan turns around, looking offended and pauses. This friendly exchange now turns into an unpredictable conversation. Donovan pauses before him and the driver start laughing- "Kadeem, bro I get it! You really do want to work hard for our organisation and I know that. All in good time, the boss knows this too. In fact, he would like to meet you personally as we have new material to shift and there might be a promotion in it for you". Sammy, concerned looks at Kadeem.

Donovon continues- "why don't you and your friend come with us to meet him?" Sammy responds to Kadeem "if its ok, I need to get back it's getting late and we still have some more left to distribute back home". Donovan replies, his tone sterner "that's not a request kid! Get in the car and once the meeting with your friend is done we will drop you some place nearby".

Reluctantly but with no choice, Sammy follows his friend into the car not knowing where they will end up next.

* * *

It's already 21:30, they are far from home and Sammy's older brother Adam will go ape shit if he is not home by 10pm which is when he returns from work. To top this, if these gangsters find out who Sammy really is, they will probably kill him or take him for ransom as Adam happens to be one of the districts most senior police officers. He has no idea how deep Sammy is in this mess and another interrogation from his big brother will not help the situation.

The car pulls up by a large gate filled with security guards before being allowed to proceed towards a grand beautiful mansion with a late night pool party getting started. Sammy suddenly realises that this really isn't just some low life drug dealer they are dealing with now. This is the organiser, the connect, the boss. He has met a lot of dangerous people, members of the syndicate but never one as high in the rankings as this.

"Be careful and hurry the fuck up!" Sammy whispers angrily into his friend's ear as they walk up the steps to a large white door. They are now on the other side of the property to the pool party and it is dark outside. A very large, bald muscular man covered in tattoos with a vest on answers the door and escorts the group to the hall just past the entrance. The hall is covered in red- the carpet, the walls finely decorated with paintings and chandeliers. Any one of these paintings could probably be sold for over a million dollars. Sammy feels sick thinking of how rich this gangster must be with this lavish lifestyle compared to the brutality and poverty of the streets. All that money for a fucking painting!

After 20 minutes a man in a smart black suit appears to be coming down the large staircase at the centre of the hall. Again, he is tall, muscular and his walk indicates that he is trained in martial arts. He is tanned, blue eyed and has has light ginger hair slicked back- this is where he gets his nickname Tiger. Whatever tattoos he has under his suit, they extend down to his hands finishing off with a small circular design from far on his right hand. Next to him are two beautiful blonde ladies wearing red dresses along with four more men in suits behind him. The bald man whispers in Tiger's ear before summoning the group to the next room. In their tracks, the guard stops Sammy telling him to wait in the hall. "I knew tonight was a bad idea" Sammy thinks to himself. He is forced to wait outside with another, slimmer body guard in a suit and tie while Kadeem is escorted into the next room with Donovan.

It has been another 15 minutes. "Can I get some liquor from the pool party while I wait". It appears that the guard has not understood Sammy fully and replies with an accent "you want drink kid? Cola, water?..." Sammy replies "yes please can I get a coke". Surprisingly, the guard caters to his request and Sammy takes the opportunity from his absence to look around and get a view through a small window by the door of the large room where Kadeem is sat with Tiger and his associates. It dawns on him that the bald guy is still in there holding his skateboard that he took away at the entrance!

They are sniffing coke, talking and drinking in there- Kadeem is no innocent kid but this is a bit too much for a 15 year old. He is use to pot, syrup and the occasional ecstasy tablet but never coke before. In the flash of a second, Tiger pulls out a silver gun and forces it into Kadeem's mouth. That second feels like forever as Sammy can see the fear in his best friend's eyes knowing there is nothing he can do. Tiger fires one loud shot before Kadeem's face turns into a pool of blood.

Everything is a blue right now and Sammy relies on his immediate reaction to get out of there as he starts running for the door out of the hallway leading to the main entrance. From here on, everything else is blank and all he can do is run forward. There has to be another way out as the gate entrance is heavily guarded. All he can hear is gun shots, men shouting and dogs barking. There is a large trash can at the back of the property where he takes cover before they see him. "Make sure you kill his fucking friend" Tiger aggressively orders. They round up the body guard who got the coke for Sammy and shoot him straight away in the head. Sammy is terrified for his life, how is he going to escape when there are men everywhere looking for him.

They split up to search the premises outside and inside. All of a sudden one of the men appears next to the bin, spotting Sammy and trying to grab him. With a kick to the face followed by a punch to the stomach, Sammy quickly catches the man off guard and he falls to his knees. The teenager struggles to strangle and wrestle the guard who is double in size to keep him on the ground but finally Sammy is able silence him by breaking his neck. He then quickly runs over to the wooden fence surrounding the perimeter of the property. His heart is racing as he tries to climb over before the dogs and gunmen reach the fence. Fortunately he is fast enough and escapes from the property onto the main road. He can hear the sound of the men shouting and driving in their cars out of the main entrance coming to find him. All Sammy can do now is run or hide as far away as possible from these killers. He stops to catch his breath by an alleyway and breaks down. "I can't believe they've killed him…"


	2. Chapter 1- Brotherly feud

**Chapter 1**

Another early start, another day at the office and another late finish. As Adam parks his jeep into his driveway he stops, feeling a sense of guilt. He spends every day trying to solve the world's problems, protecting the city yet he knows that he is struggling to be there for those closest to him. He can't recall when he last had a date night with his girlfriend Keri or even how their little girl Sasha is doing at her nursery. She is growing up too fast and he is missing out. Its days like this that Adam wishes he could see Sammy after school, have a match in their local boxing gym then grab a burger like they used to every Thursday. Well feeling guilty doesn't change the day gone by and certainly doesn't pay the bills! The whole reason why his family have their home and have moved to a nice part of the city is because of Adam's promotion and how hard he works.

Finally its home sweet home and after a long day like this, a good rest is well deserved. "Hey babe, I'm home!" As Adam walks through the door exhausted but with a smile, he can see Keri in the next room relaxing on the sofa with a glass of red wine in front of the TV. "Hey, how was your day?" she replies. Before he can say anything else she continues "I can't believe its 11:30 already, I think I'm going to head upstairs to bed now but we'll catch up properly in the morning" she greets him with a kiss on the cheek. "Sasha is fast asleep and dinner is in the oven for you to heat up". Feeling the guilt again Adam replies "thank you, I'm sorry it was another late one. Sleep well". The couple have been through a lot, everything from moving around to death threats. Keri has sacrificed a lot to be with Adam so this is no big deal. She takes his hand and replies "I understand and I know you are doing your best for us". This brings a smile to his face and he feels like he is one lucky guy.

The smile however is short lived as Keri travels up the stairs to bed..."By the way Sammy has stayed out late again. I don't know where he is, he hasn't returned home and his phone is dead!" Adam is not surprised- "this boy is trying his luck with me and I'm running out of patience! It's those kids he hangs out with from school and he knows what the rules are here! I will wait up for him thanks for letting me know".

* * *

12am, 1am, 2am… Adam can hear the sound of keys rattling followed by the door. Sammy quietly walks in with the hope that no one is awake right now. The last thing he needs is a lecture or more grief! "I've been fucking worried out of my mind, where the hell have you been?!" Adam's voice startles him and Sammy knows he is back in his brothers bad books. "I'm sorry… we went out and the subway closed so I had to walk home".

"Don't think I can't smell the alcohol and weed that's been on you… you know the rules under my roof especially with Sasha here. I can't have you hanging around with Kadeem on the streets- that boy has always been trouble and you need to stop this right now before someone arrests your ass or kills you".

The mention of Kadeem's name sends red fireworks through Sammy's head. He loses it and throws a punch towards Adam's face. He has crossed a fine line but Sammy is not fast enough for his brother and the punch is blocked before he is restrained with his face against the wall and hands behind his back. Of course this is Adam's first instinct being a cop. "What the fuck is wrong with you Sammy?! You look wasted and you're a 15 year old! What would our parents say about you hanging with these punks?"

All of this commotion has woken Keri up to come downstairs. "Adam! Let him go right now". He loosens his grip, damn that was painful for Sammy but he won't show it. "What is wrong with you two? Whatever you need to discuss, sleep on it and leave it for the morning!" She can see Sammy is upset right now and needs sleep- "Go upstairs and sleep on it Sammy".

As he walks away, Adam is not finished yet- "You better listen boy, this shit won't happen again. Tomorrow morning I'm dropping you to school and Keri will pick you up at the gates. You're grounded for the rest of term!"

Sammy turns around and coldly replies "don't sweat it bro, I won't be here for much longer and I can do what I want. You're nothing to me, stop acting like you're my dad!"

Nothing more was said that night but those last words felt like a shock and a real kick in the teeth for Adam. Within a year of their father passing away, their mother became mentally ill and suicidal. With no one who understood her illness, Adam made a tough decision by placing her into a care home to stop her from harming herself and others. After this, he was old enough to become Sammy's guardian so that he didn't have to be taken away and put into care. He has looked after his younger brother ever since and no matter how difficult Sammy had become, Adam never gave up on him. This time he was on the verge of giving up. With this thought, Adam picked up the half empty bottle of red wine Keri left on the table and started to drink from it. Sometimes tough love is the only way forward…

* * *

It's the Friday morning silent treatment served with evil looks as the two brothers grab their slices of toast from the kitchen before they have to pack their bags for work and school. Keri is in the middle of all of this tension in the room but fortunately Sasha is awake and ready for nursery. As the two brothers eat on opposite sides of the kitchen table, she runs over to Adam with a piece of paper. "Daddy, daddy look what I made for you!" He gives her a big hug and takes a look at her drawing of him in a police car. "Thank you sweetheart, I will pin this on my wall today at work" this put a smile on her face.

She then pulls out another piece of paper from her rucksack while running over to Sammy. "Yesterday I made this for you Uncle Sammy!" It was a drawing of him with his red roller skates on, in the clouds or the sea from what he could make out. This put on his face the first genuine smile in a long time as he hugged his niece and wished her a good day before nursery.

"Sammy you look drained" Keri observed. "Adam, maybe he should stay at home today and rest. I'm happy to call the school up for any work he will miss that he can do over the weekend". With a little hesitation, but trusting his spouse's judgement Adam responded "Okay, but he stays at home". This was a huge relief for Sammy as school is one more worry he has to think about especially when he knows he won't ever see his best friend in class again. It's a struggle holding it all together and this reality has not hit him yet. "Thank you Keri" Sammy replied. After they finished breakfast, Adam said his goodbyes and set off for work.

"Hey Sammy, wanna come with me to drop Sasha off to nursery?" Keri asked.

"If it's okay, I'd like to get some rest but I'll be in my room for the rest of the day. I can assure you that going out is the last thing I want to do right now". The loss of his best friend is at the forefront of his mind and the sadness is beginning to show in his face.

Sammy had his ups and downs with Keri in the past but he always knew she was a good person who cared about him and his brother. Yes she likes her fancy clothes, nails and hair done every week but she always had his best interests at heart and he could look up to her like the older sister he never had.

"Okay Sammy, I'll be back in ten. Take your time, I know Adam is angry but he will get past it so don't worry this is still your home. And if you need to talk, you know where I am".

* * *

8:30am at the office. The place where everyone thinks at 100mph, the place meetings, interviews, training and paperwork (lots of it) takes place. There are a number of cases and officers to manage on a daily basis both in the office and outside on the field. Officers and attorneys from all ranks are coming and going constantly- it is a whole new chaos compared to the one back home.

As Adam enters the building, he is greeted by a number of secretaries, cadets and officers who have just finished their night shifts. The ground floor is a busy place that is heavily secured consisting of interview rooms, waiting areas and last night's trouble makers being taken in or waiting for bail to come through at 9am. It's a half hour commute each day by car into the city from the suburbs. Since being promoted to captain of his department, Adam's office lies on the 6th floor at the top along with many other departmental offices on the other side of the complex. Wood Oak Central Police Department (WOCPD) is a very diverse place but is like a second home.

The usual pile of paperwork is sitting waiting for him on the desk to read through prior to the 9am daily meeting. Just a taster of office life over the last year but with this promotion, it sometimes means less time out in the field which he misses and more time with that dreaded paper work. But he works closely with the deputy chief of the district and is one of the few African American officers to hold this position high up in the police rankings.

Adam takes the opportunity to multitask by reading some of the paper work and grabbing a necessary coffee to go from the 5th floor canteen. After last night he is sure this needed coffee will be one of many today.

"Seen the news yet on reds?" that East Coast familiar voice drew him away from his paperwork.

"Hey Ax, what up?" Adam replied before giving a shoulder bump.

Agent Axel Stone and Adam Hunter had been like brothers since they were kids. Adam attended his family dojo in the city when they met and both men have trained and fought together ever since. There was always something special about Axel's fighting style that no one else could ever match up to. When they graduated from high school life took separate roads when Adam pursued his boxing career before becoming a police cadet. During that time, Axel was sent to military school then served for 5 years abroad in various places. After the death of his parents, the only family he had, life turned upside down after he quit the military. One night a man called Stefan Visser spotted Axel fighting 5 men outside of a bar. Visser was a well-known gangster back then who took the young fighter under his wing around the world where Axel became an undisputed MMA champion in over 10 countries in the Far East as well as the USA. He had a rich, lavish lifestyle but had principles and when he wanted to leave, he had no choice but to kill Visser along with his men, cover up the evidence then move on. When Axel moved back home after 3 years, Adam persuaded him to join the force with all of his experience from the military and fighting. Since then they have worked together and today they are partners in the force.

"Deputy Chief O'Neil is chairing the briefing this morning, I get the feeling a lot is about to change around here" Axel replied.

Adam: "So what has the Reds problem got to do with us? They're sorting this out now."

The Wood Oak City Police Department contains three districts: _Central District_ , which is where they are, the largest of the three that has jurisdictions in over 50% of the city with the highest level of crime reported and resources; _Green District_ , 25% operating in the far North and West of the city and finally _Red District,_ 25% operating in the South and East. During the last ten years the syndicate have mainly operated in the Centre but in recent times they have expanded their powers outwards. Three weeks ago, the Red district's main office was bombed. As a result, over 200 officers were killed, and over 400 injured many of whom out of action now. One of those amongst the casualties was their Deputy Chief, Carl Ramos who ran their department. For a building so heavily guarded and secure, it is clear that this attack was the result of a mole or team of moles in the department. Since then, as a temporary solution Central District took over this part of the city due to a shortage of staff whilst Green District sent over 100 officers to assist.

Axel: "Has he not briefed you yet? O'Neil will be announcing that six of Red's senior officers will be joining our team here, possibly from tomorrow".

Adam: "Tomorrow?! As if we don't have enough shit to manage here, they better be good. And I need good fighters. Do you have their files yet?"

Axel: "No. But between you and me, O'Neil has chosen these six because he suspects that at least one of them is the mole or team of moles who organised the bombing".

Adam, feeling annoyed answers: "What the fuck? They can't be serious putting this major department at risk all because they want us to spy on them and their work? This was never our problem".

A voice from behind: "Morning fellas, so who are these new recruits?" Axel and Adam look at each other like a bad rumour is already trending and the day hasn't even started.

"Hey Jess", replies Axel. "To be honest, we have not met them yet ourselves but I'm sure you will find out in the briefing. In the meantime I need the Rio case typed up and filed straight away please. And you're stationed at the harbour today by the way". Axel can be the most demanding official at times but he does take his job seriously most of the time. She gazes at him with her bright green eyes, smiles at him then walks away.

Adam: "No shit, you didn't Ax…hit that did you?"

Axel: "It was a one-off on the low a couple of nights ago, we were both drinking outside and it got too far. She knows that's all it is".

Adam: "You know you gotta stop this man! I get it, a hot redhead putting it on a plate but she's an officer on your team and probably wants your job, which if anyone finds this out you could lose. Plus she a hoe!" Axel looking slightly surprised, Adam continues: "Yes! She tried it with me first but I don't do no hoes". Both officers laugh before making their way to the briefing room.


	3. Chapter 2- The new recruits

**Chapter 2**

9am – all 120 officers present in this building today plus 30 cadets are sat in the briefing hall before the senior officials are asked to enter. At the doorway, O'Neil greets Adam with some more paperwork. "So you've heard the news I take it?"

Adam: "Yes DC. I know what I need to do but I'd like to see the files first before they arrive tomorrow".

O'Neil: "Sure, here you go. They're actually arriving from 5pm today. I expect you and Stone to be here to meet them when they do".

5pm? Really, just when Adam thought he would finish early today before training and checking in on Sammy. Looks like it's going to be another late one, Axel better not desert him later.

They enter the hall, sitting by the podium where the chief delivers his 15 minute briefing including today's headline as well as the on-going cases they are working on involving their syndicate task force. As he delivers his speech, Adam takes the opportunity to glance through the six files in his hand each labelled with _Wood Oak City Red District Official – CLASSIFED INFORMATION_.

One of our moles has to be either:

 _Sam Davidson-_ young 25 year old with little fighting experience but a great hacker.

 _David Arnold-_ close to retirement, more out of the field now but experienced in prosecution. His motive could be that he was next in line for the role of Deputy Chief.

 _Stuart Auberry-Mason-_ Adam has met this prick before- white supreme fascist, pervert, but a savage fighter- it's probably him based on Adam's judgement.

 _Nadine Bilson-_ Very good references, not a good fighter but she has dealt with major cases as a detective in the past. Also a successful prosecutor.

 _Bernice Wayne-_ Again he has good references, grew up as a cage fighter in France. He also trains cadets but Adam has never met him before.

 _Blaze Fielding-_ No shit? Adam was partnered with Blaze when they were cadets- an amazing fighter and officer but it can't be the same Blaze. She went back home to London years ago to work there for MI6… he takes a good look at the mugshot and realises it is her, wondering why she is on this hit list.

"Briefing Adjourned, any officers off duty on the team need to be back here at 5pm sharp today. That's an order" O'Neil finished there.

"How's the list looking?" Axel asks as they walk out.

Adam: "This is going to be a challenge. Half of these 'senior' officers can't fight for shit, the last thing I need is more admin motherfuckers. You can train them by the way".

Axel: "That's cool, that means you can stay up and research their asses"

Adam: "Deal. Time to start duty then".

* * *

Its early afternoon and the pair are driving around in plain clothes and an unmarked car patrolling for anything suspicious. So far today it's been relatively quiet, busted three drug dealers and arrested two men fighting in the street. You never know what the day will throw at you with this job. Suddenly a call comes through on the radio, its Jess who is with her partner Brian:

Jess: "Central Agent Hart 404 over"

Axel: "Central Agent Stone over, the line isn't clear I need you to speak up"

Jess: "Brian and I had a call out for block 85, Mercer Street, we need urgent back up right away!"

Adam progresses to speed ahead through the traffic and within three minutes they arrive at what appears to be a derelict building site.

As they arrive, they see Jess and Brian have broken into the building but they are nowhere to be seen. Immediately they hear a loud shot on their windscreen- fortunately this car is bullet proof.

Axel: "Snipers- that came from the building"

Adam: "I can see a basement with a window at the bottom of the building on my side, if I drive with speed close enough can you jump out and break in? I'll cover you"

Axel: "Yeah lets go" enthusiastic that finally something interesting has come up today. He grabs his gun ready and as the car aggressively speeds toward the building, he opens the door and rolls out, firing a shot at one of the snipers on the basement before kicking the door open. Adam quickly rolls out and takes cover behind the car, looking out for anymore gunmen around before following the same path as his partner.

At this point the basement is clear and the pair make their way to the ground floor cautiously. They can see Jess and Brian taking cover behind one of the walls leading to a kitchen. Adam spots another man with a gun walking towards them and swiftly shoots him in the head. Brian sees him and gives him a nod. The team start making their way up the flights of stairs when thugs start to attack them. One man tries to jump on Axel but within a second he grabs and breaks the man's arm before knocking him out cold to the head with the gun. The fighting and gun fire becomes more and more intense.

Unfortunately Jess and Brian only have basic training in combat so this is a real challenge for them. Just when it seems like these men are either dead or knocked out cold and handcuffed to the stairwell, one grabs Brian by the leg and pulls him down, shooting him in the abdomen after grabbing his gun. Axel quickly reacts, shooting the man in the head and removing his navy blue jumper to stop the bleeding. Adam is already near the top floor of the 8 story building.

"Wait here" Axel whispers to Jess. "And make sure you put compression on the wound, use anything you can to stop the bleeding. More backup is on the way". They then hear a very loud screech, strange and pain like at the top of the building. Jess replies worriedly: "Where are you going?" Before she finishes her sentence, he is quickly and quietly making his way up the stairs towards Adam. Someone or something is definitely waiting for them on the top floor.

The pair cautiously wait by the entrance past the stairwell. Inside they can see a bright space, the sun is shining in. This floor could maybe hold two apartments at most but is empty with no fittings in place apart from huge windows with a nice view to the city outside. The screeching sound happens again and they move forward one by one covering each other. What they are about to see is a big shock. Inside a large metal cage is a baby kangaroo. Adam reacts: "What the fuck? How could these people import this here?" Even worse, at the back of the space is the mother, tied up with chains and full of blood. As an air of caution she will understandably try to defend herself if they get too close. Axel replies: "There are some fucking sick bastards in this place who would do this".

Adam: "Check the rest of the floor, when backup arrives they will inspect the whole building".

Adam reaches for his phone: "This is Central Agent Hunter, we need the animal authorities over right away… we have a baby kangaroo and the mother who is bleeding and tied up…..yes that's what I said two kangaroos!"

Within minutes the authorities arrive to do the rest and Brian is taken into an ambulance. Axel explains to the paramedic: "34 year old male, one shot to the abdomen we've applied pressure to stop the bleeding". She replies "Thank you" before turning to Brian in the stretcher "thanks to your team, you are going to be ok".

Adam: "Its 3pm already, I'm heading back to the station to start preparing the interviews with the three men we have in custody. I'll need your statement along with Jess and Brian as soon as possible for the attorney".

Axel: "Sure, once the forensics have started here on the four dead and when I've finished up here I will get a ride back to the station".

Adam: "Thanks and good work"

* * *

 _#Axel's cell phone rings#_

"Central Agent Stone speaking….what? No!" Sadness appears on his face. "… and the joey?...ok that's good….. Give me 15 minutes"...

Axel: "Thanks for driving me here Jess, Adam has taken our car back to HQ"

Jess: "Anytime….. I'm glad to hear Brian is ok, thank you for your help back there"

Axel smiles back: "It's what we do, we all look out for each other. I really hope it stays like this even when the new team arrive".

Jess: "So err what time are we set to finish tonight when they've had their introduction?"

Axel: "Not sure, you and the rest of the team can probably go within half an hour, Adam and I will have to brief them afterwards"

Jess: "So I take it your busy then for the rest of the night?" she says with a smile placing her hand on his arm where one of the attackers earlier cut him, the blood still apparent on his white t-shirt. Her mid length red her and purposely figure hugging uniform every day is tempting but-

He responds: "Take the car back to the office, I will be ok from here. When you get back before the briefing ask Rob to take your statement on today. You can also explain why you weren't present at your post by the harbour".

A look of disappointment dawns on her face and she removes her hand- "Sure thing".

Axel enters the animal shelter where the kangaroos found were being treated. The veterinary surgeon who called approaches him straight away. "Thank you for coming at such short notice. Luckily the joey is ok but we did everything we could to save the mother".

Axel: "These sick bastards use them and breed them to fight for money, with enough evidence we can have them inside for six years, it should be more but that's the fucking law for you".

The vet responds: "I'm sure you will do everything you can Agent Stone to bring them to justice. There's something you need to see- you will have to wear this white apron first and the gloves".

He follows the vet into a room where the body is inside a bag. As he opens the bag, he is shown a circular mark with seven stars tattooed on the animal's neck. A look of horror comes across his face and he takes photographs of the evidence. "Yes, definitely this is an organisation working for the syndicate who are doing this".

The syndicate is an underground organisation who oversee various criminal organisations on the police radar including one of the city's major casinos, brothels, strip clubs, fight clubs, gyms, drug supplies and bars. It's expanded so much that it's difficult to tell where the businesses they control are and who is running them. It's evident in the bombing that at least one syndicate member is on the force, maybe even in the government. Corruption is a major issue today in the city. Even the identity of the boss who oversees the syndicate is not known and is hidden from many of his associates lower in the hierarchy. He could be anywhere right now, could be working in any legit profession. He is known to the authorities as Mr X but who is he really? That is the million dollar question.

* * *

"Adam, there's something I have to show you", Axel rushes into his colleagues' office.

Adam, feeling very stressed: "This needs to wait, our briefing is in ten minutes! O'Neil is going to lose it if we show up late- the two unprofessional senior bosses need to make an example! And…. Ax please change your t- shirt and clean up, you still have blood on you!"

Axel rushes over to Adam with the camera he used earlier. "Take a look at this, look closely at that mark".

Adam recognises it and observes the tattoo in the photo carefully. Axel continues, "That mark is a tattoo that the Yamato cult use. Their temple is secret, moves around making them impossible to locate."

Adam responds- "you know this is all fighting legend bullshit that you learnt about on your travels that doesn't exist anymore. Besides, what has this got to do with the syndicate?"

Axel: "you've seen the effects of their powers for yourself once. This animal must have had strong chi (energy force) around its aura for them to do this. Who knows what the syndicate has to do with this cult but keep an eye out for this mark, even with our colleagues here. If they bear the mark, it's likely to be hidden on their body. And don't share this with anyone, especially when they will ask how we know about this".

When Axel is serious and worried, it's no bullshit and shouldn't be ignored.

Adam: "Ok bro, I will keep an eye out. Now get yourself changed and ready and let's get this meeting over with."

* * *

5pm is finally here and they just make it in time to the briefing, a sigh of relief on Deputy O'Neil's face as he begins his talk in front of the ten closest lieutenants underneath Adam and Axel along with a handful of officers off duty.

"These five members will be joining your team and will be moving into your offices tomorrow. Agent Hunter has already allocated where they will be working and who they will be sharing an office with. During this time, you will all have to work collaboratively, giving the best advice you can to our new staff as they get use to this environment and continue with their training. We are all now one unit and although this is a temporary measure, I am sure you will get to know them individually in good time".

One of the new officers, Bernice felt quite patronised after that speech and you could see the disgust in his face. "I already have years of training" he muttered under his breath to Nadine sitting next to him, "What makes them think they are more qualified than us? I really wish I was not transferred here". She nodded in agreement.

O'Neil: "Briefing adjourned, I will inform those officers by email on the night shift tomorrow, and in the meantime you are free to go otherwise. Agent Stone and Hunter, I need you to interview the new senior team one by one, briefing them with the procedures and their schedules prepared".

"Yes chief", both officers replied. "Oh, and agent Hart, I need you to stay. Please can you show the group round the place while they are waiting to be interviewed?" Jess nods back asking "DC, weren't there supposed to be six on the cards?"

O'Neil: "Yes there were, so glad you know how to count! If the last one does ever bother to show her face, send her to my office immediately".

"This is going to be a long night", Axel complained to his closest colleague. Adam responded: "Yeah, and that fat motherfucker chief is going home now while we do the dirty work". They can see Jess hanging around outside with the group waiting for the interviews to start and showing anyone left around the office.

Adam: "That red head is sweet on you"

Axel: "Yeah and I took your advice. No chick is ever worth losing my hard work over, she can stay sweet in the meantime".

Adam: "If that day ever comes when you settle down, I'll be damned"

Axel: "And if you ever pop the question to Keri you can make me best man and I will throw you the biggest bachelor party you ever seen". If there is one person who can always lighten the mood on a boring evening its Axel.

Jess knocks abruptly while the pair are joking around- "shall I send the first officer in now?"

Adam gives the nod.

"Nadine Bilson, it's a pleasure to meet you my name is Captain Hunter and this is my colleague Captain Stone." She removes her hat with the red emblem, part of her district uniform and salutes her new superiors before they exchange handshakes.

"Please take a seat officer Bilson" Axel continues.

"Adam will now brief you on the departmental regulations where you will need to sign the following documents to confirm you have understood the procedures here. I will then talk you through your schedule as well as our additional combat and self-defence programme." She looks puzzled and replies "Well I do already have sufficient combat skills, I went through the cadet program and had further training when I became on officer".

Adam: "Yes but your profile is…."

Axel interrupts: "What my colleague is trying to say is that we run a regular combat program here for all of our officers taught by leading martial arts experts. Violent crimes in this district are on the rise as the syndicate employ many fighters to work for them. Sometimes guns aren't enough. I can assure you the extra training will make a huge difference, even if you decide to focus on attorney matters, I would encourage you to protect yourself by improving your abilities."

Adam hints a smile as he believes this has won the slightly pessimistic officer over.

Adam: "Lets continue then we will brief you on the cases you will be working on from tomorrow….."

One hour later and the first meeting is over. Next up is lieutenant David Arnold- lecturing this 56 year old with at least 20 more years of experience is a little embarrassing but is a necessary evil. Following his meeting is Lieutenant Bernice Wayne. Axel and Adam are tall and muscular at both 6ft2 but this guy is something else at 6ft5 with his frame, this man could contend for Mr Universe. He is also older at the age of 40 and has served more time on the force, however surprisingly he is the most enthusiastic so far about the combat training and agrees on how important it is.

The next person to be interviewed is Lieutenant Davidson, the young computer whizz. This was by far the easiest person to interview as he agreed with everything without question and he was the easiest to read. In addition to the administration and policy briefing, the pair were given strict orders to be observant of their new officers' characters and anything they say at all times.

10pm and Adam is losing the will to live. "No no not this asshole next"- last but not least was Lieutenant Stuart Auberry-Mason. An old colleague Adam had worked with ten years ago who he had nothing but bad experiences with. "I'm telling you Ax, I know this guy and he must be the mole. He's a racist, just like the asshole cops you see in the South. He has been suspended in the past for inappropriate conduct on a female officer and he tries to undermine anyone who is superior to him."

Axel replies: "You know what, introduce yourself then go home, it's late and I can finish off the last interview. Don't worry I can handle this asshole, he will know his place in the next hour".

Adam: "You're a blessing from God man, what would I do without you?!"

* * *

It has been a long night, only a handful of senior officers on the night shift are left in the building plus the best secretary they have, Maureen who sees Axel as he leaves the interview room to head back to his office upstairs before going home. "That bad huh?" she asks him. "That has to be the most difficult interview I have ever done! Adam was right about this motherfucker we have been forced to work with and they saved the best until last".

She replies: "11pm and you need to be here again bright and early tomorrow morning. Go home and get some rest!"

Axel: "Thanks Mau, have a good night!"

He proceeds to take the lift upstairs to the 6th floor where his office is to get changed, grab his keys, file the paper work then go straight home. Too much has happened today, he hasn't eaten, is living off 4 hours sleep a night and now to make matters worse, the lights have been switched off on the top floor in the hall to save energy. Oddly, Adam's office light in the distance is still on, he should have left an hour ago. Has someone broken into his office? The blinds across the window are shut so it's impossible to see who is in there. Only Axel and O'Neil have access to this office but he is long gone….

Axel attaches his gun and knife to his jeans under his jacket along with Adam's spare key. As he approaches the office he can hear Adam's voice talking to someone. This is very strange, how long has he been waiting there? Is he in the middle of a phone call? Has something happened at home?

He opens the door to find Adam sitting at his desk in front of a brunette with long dark hair wearing a red jacket- certainly not a police officer in uniform. She turns around on her chair to see who has just walked in, looking surprised.

Axel: "Sorry I err didn't mean to interrupt your meeting". She pauses and stares at him in the eye with large green/blue grey eyes and slightly tanned but still fair skin. Definitely not American, could be European, Latin or even Middle Eastern with her dark hair.

Adam smiles: "Hey bro it's all good, I was just finishing the last interview. This is Lieutenant Blaze Fielding she will be joining the team tomorrow. Blaze, this is Captain Axel Stone, my partner who will be co-leading the team with me".

Axel extends his hand out. "Pleased to meet you" she replies with an English accent before exchanging the handshake. All of a sudden he feels a ping like a mini electric shock in his hand and quickly pulls his hand away feeling a little embarrassed. There is definitely something very weird about this woman.

Axel: "So you're British?" feeling curious whilst stating the obvious.

Blaze: "Yeah from London. I moved back here six months ago"

Axel: "So where is all the paperwork for the interview Adam?" Thinking of why she is not in uniform at least.

Adam: "Blaze and I were partners in the force when we were training as cadets, we go way back. She knows the regulations here and is a great fighter".

Axel slightly shocked: "Well that's good news as everyone here goes through the combat training program we teach"

Blaze: "Great!" with a forced smile, her charm is starting to ware off now as she is becoming impatient to leave. Why should she be treated any different from the other possible moles/ new staff?

Axel: "And what about DC O'Neil? Did you inform him of the late arrival?"

Adam: "Its fine, I will speak with him tomorrow".

Blaze: "Well it's been a long night, I had to come straight from training and if you both have everything you need I'm going to head home. Is it ok to call a taxi?"

Adam: "No I insist I will give you a ride back, it's late now"

Axel: "Adam I think its best if we call the taxi- I'm sure she means a cab- as we have to finish off the filing before we leave".

Her eyes have changed now from grey to a more prominent blue as she looks up at them, "Seriously I will be fine guys, there's a cab place up the road I will go to. See you tomorrow"

Axel, looking suspicious wave's good bye as this strange woman leaves the office, not very sure what lies ahead in the morning.

"Adam, how can you trust this girl? O'Neil is gonna flip tomorrow you can't treat her differently to the others".

Adam: "Its fine seriously, we go way back. She saved my ass a couple of times!"

Axel looking concerned: "Please tell me nothing has happened between you two?"

Adam: "What do you mean?"

Axel: "You're a lucky man with Keri by your side you know"

Adam laughs and responds: "Oh...no way man! The guys in the department have always thought she was hot be she's got a lot of issues and she's always been more of a sisterly friend, I never thought of her like that to be honest! Sammy always had a crush on her though…"

Axel: "She knows your family too?"

Adam: "Yep, she's even met Keri when we first hit it off and Keri likes her. So lighten up yeah?"

Axel unsure: "Ok. See you in the morning then".


	4. Chapter 3- Queen of England

**Chapter 3**

A typical week for a cop in the department consists of 6 days work then an allocated day off unless there is an emergency or limited staff. Saturday is just like any other day except the night which is worse. Before heading to work, Axel decides to stop off at the Wood Oak City Central Hospital. One of the perks of being one of the most senior officers in the district is the pay. He quickly pulls over to park his black Porsche a couple of blocks down from the entrance before spotting a parking attendant who is now sprinting over to give him a ticket.

The attendant then decides to knock on the driver's tinted window, "Sir, your vehicle is not registered to park here". Axel lowers down the window. Today he is in uniform as the city chief is visiting the district later… hat and everything. The parking attendant is stunned as he pulls out his badge.

Attendant: "I can see you are a city officer but your car is not a police marked vehicle so I am going to have to fine you. Please step out and hand over your license, you know the procedure"

Looking pissed off now and impatient Axel responds: "Take another look at my badge carefully"

After a long pause, the attendant feeling embarrassed tries to apologise "my mistake, Captain".

Axel: "Good. I get it you have a job to do. I'd appreciate it if you can keep an eye out for my car in the meantime I will only be ten minutes and am happy to put a good word in to your superior as long as I don't return to a ticket on my car from you or your local colleagues"

Attendant: "Of course Captain".

* * *

Axel reaches the help desk of the hospital on the private patient's floor and immediately shows the secretaries his badge before he is escorted to Brian's room.

Axel: "Hey man, how are you holding up?"

Brian: "Fuck that was painful, my first bullet" he smiles

Axel: "Try three- congratulations!" he responds showing him one of the scars on his left shoulder.

Brian, tries to move but is in pain: "Thank you for your help yesterday Captain, you saved my life"

Axel: "Glad you are still here. Within four months you will be ready to come back soon, DC O'Neil and Captain Hunter have also recognised your hard work so there is always a place for you whenever you are ready to come back. In the meantime, make the most of your days off!"

Brian smiles: "Hope things aren't too chaotic at the office, I heard about those red assholes"

Axel laughs: "Yeah, we got our hands full there!" he continues, "About yesterday, do you remember where Lieutenant Hart stationed you both over the morning before the incident?"

Brain: "Yeah, she ordered us to patrol the highway and industrial areas by where we called you"

Axel: "Hmm, did you manage to visit the harbour at all yesterday?"

Brian: "No, it must have been quiet there"

Axel: "Thanks Brian, take care of yourself"

* * *

Just in time for the 9am briefing, Adam has two cups of coffee handing one of them over to his partner.

Adam: "How is Brian?"

Axel: "He's going to be ok but will be out for at least five months… you know the pair didn't follow protocol yesterday and stationed themselves in the wrong area"

Adam: "Well that was lucky then, at least we found those thugs which by the way, their interviews were quickly done and they have now been taken into custody"

Axel: "Good. One less thing to worry about"

9am arrives and there is no sign of DC O'Neil- this is a rare sight and an opportunity to cancel the briefing.

Adam: "Fuck! Of course he's not here! He's gone to meet and pick up City Chief Inspector Clark….. Shit, you know what that means-"

Axel: "No fucking way do I really have to?"

Adam: "I did the last one"

Axel: "Ok joking aside and hand over today's paper work"

* * *

Both officers in uniform are addressed and saluted by the staff who are waiting patiently for the late briefing.

Axel: "Officers, apologies for the late briefing today, I will make this short. DC O'Neil is currently meeting with City Chief Inspector Clark. For those of you stationed at the office this weekend and in the local areas, he is likely to visit and talk to you. He is keen to share our practise to strengthen Green District whilst rebuilding Red District. It is therefore our duty to lead by example, setting the highest standards of practise. He would also like to witness our combat programme as well as our resources. Chief will take the opportunity to meet our new recruits who I am sure most of you are getting to know already. Before I continue, I would like to….

Suddenly the door at the back of the hall opens loudly, interrupting the briefing due to a late officer in Red District uniform. It's Blaze…. late again. No one is ever late to a briefing and she needs to learn this fast if her job is going to last here. The room pauses in silence, Jess whispers over to a colleague: "that bitch is lucky O'Neil wasn't chairing this morning, he would have fired her ass straight away"

The pause felt like a long time with everyone staring at the new officer at the back of the room…

Blaze: "Apologies Captain Stone, I got lost around the building. It won't happen again"

Axel: "I hope so for your sake. I thought you Brits were supposed to be punctual?"

The room chuckles as this briefing is turning into an entertaining verbal match from both sides of the room. Looking very offended and embarrassed, she takes an empty seat before saying no more when Axel continues with the briefing on today's cases.

"Briefing adjourned… remember how important this weekend is!….. Agent Fielding, report to my office immediately".

Adam looks up at the podium: "Good luck bro"

* * *

Upstairs on the 6th floor, Adam can see Blaze sitting, waiting outside Axel's office with her hat off looking annoyed. It looks like she has had a difficult day already and you can see from her appearance and messy hair that she rushed getting ready for work. Most of the female officers here are either dressed smart, business like in heals, jacket and make up when they are stationed at the office doing attorney work or at least they make a bit of an effort to tidy their appearance, hair back nicely, ironed uniform, clean shoes etc. when they are scheduled out on the field.

Adam: "What's going on with you? You need to take this a lot more seriously, it's not like Red District. The officers here work long hours, are ruthless for higher rankings like ours and will take any opportunity to demote a new lieutenant like yourself especially when you are from another district"

Blaze: "I will fix this, don't worry"

Adam: "You need to avoid getting strikes or your out! Work closely with us and pay attention"

Blaze: "Your partner is an asshole!"

Adam: "Wait until you meet the Deputy Chief, this is nothing. Good luck"

Axel arrives to open the door to the office where Adam and Blaze walk in first. Adam hands over some paper work, says something in his ear before Blaze salutes the two superiors. Adam then leaves the room and Axel sits by his desk while Blaze remains standing.

He starts his lecture: "If you're going to be successful here, you need to follow the rules. I have worked in this department longer than anywhere else and never has any senior officer arrived late. This seriously is your lucky day as our Deputy Chief is rarely out of the office and would give you a strike or suspension straight away".

He continues, "I have spoken to Agent Hunter at lengths about your work and given the circumstances, I will not take further action over this morning's and last night's punctuality issues"

This is a relief for Blaze- it really has not been as plain sailing so far as she expected.

To her disappointment, he continues: "You will however be under the watchful eye of your team to ensure that you are organised at all times. You are the only agent who is still in Red District Uniform. As a result of your lateness yesterday, you missed the uniform fitting and tour of the building which led to you being late today. I would suggest that you see Maureen on the floor below ASAP to take your measurements in order to change your uniform and smarten up before Captain Hunter briefs you on today's work at 10am. I'd expect your new uniform to be ready by this afternoon before the City Chief's visit. There is also a combat session you need to attend with lieutenant Yeung at 2pm today by the gyms. Here is your printed schedule for today and tomorrow, Hunter and I expect this to be followed down to a T today, is that understood?"

'Wow this is like being in the military', Blaze thinks to herself.

Blaze: "Yes boss, clearly"

Axel: "Great, glad we have cleared this up now. Do you have anything else to say or ask?"

Blaze: "As a matter of fact, I am deeply concerned with aspects of the department here".

Axel: "Fire away…"

Blaze: "Firstly I was sent the letter two days ago demanding my transfer from your DC here. Under current legislation I have rights to 28 days' notice so I had limited time to prepare for last night let alone abandoning the cases I have been working on for months! I also have no knowledge as to why I was transferred abruptly even after being promised a Captain promotion where I was…"

That comment just made Axel even more suspicious of her being the mole but rightfully so, he would have been angry with this arrangement if it were him.

"…Your superior also could have at least arranged some temporary accommodation to help with your long hours- my commute is an hour into the city. And lastly I am deeply offended by your comment this morning about my nationality. You can see from my resume, the amount of work I have done, my skills and my Judo experience is valuable to your department but you humiliated me in front of your staff to make yourself feel better!" She was clearly very upset and annoyed.

Axel: "Woah hold up hold up! – I apologise if that comment offended you, I said it in the spur of the moment. I can see your achievements in your file, they are remarkable but you took that a little too seriously"

Blaze: "Says the guy who has spent the last ten minutes giving me the serious official lecture"

Axel notices her eye colour right now has turned green from the sunlight beaming into the office and her hair is a lighter brown than yesterday – 'what the hell? Is she even human?- Don't be stupid Ax. If she is, she's beautiful… but yes she's got a lot of issues and a major attitude problem. Who does she think she is with all these demands?... accommodation, her own cases, her own uniform, comes and goes when she pleases…. She's not the Queen of England!'

After a lengthy silence, Blaze continues "Well, is there anything else you'd like to inform me of before I set out for my itinerary?"

Axel: "If you wish to make an official complaint about my comment this morning, I understand. You will have to take it to Adam. Apologies if I offended you. That will be all for now"

She salutes him before leaving the room, Axel thinking to himself- 'Shit, these Red Officers are starting to stress me out!'

* * *

The morning has flown by very quickly so far and the officers are expecting the City Chief to arrive in time for the Saturday night shift, not knowing if this visit will be brief or extended. So far today, the Deputy Chief O'Neil and Chief Clark have been attending Red District Police Department to implement any necessary changes.

Adam, on lunch break takes out his cell phone. "Keri?... How's it going and how is Sammy holding up?"

Keri: "I don't know Adam, he is not himself right now. Aside from him staying home and not leaving his bedroom he won't talk, is barely eating and isn't interested in doing much work. Something is definitely wrong, I think you guys need to talk".

Adam: "I think it's going to be another late finish, we have a new team to deal with right now"

Keri: "Your brother needs you, I don't know how much more I can do here…. You know that its Sasha's first swimming club day on Monday also, it would mean so much if you could be there"

Adam: "Ok, I will talk to DC and hopefully Ax will be able to cover for me"

Keri: "Thank you, I love you"

Adam feeling stressed: "Speak to you soon"

* * *

13:50 and Blaze made it early to fight club, or whatever this is. Every day this programme is done in shifts that the officers of all ranks must attend twice per week around their work. The best fighters on the force each teach a class in turns depending on the day. As she enters the dojo it is empty and she takes the time to look around before sitting on her knees to meditate and gain five minutes of calmness through this hectic day. The walls are filled with photos of masters of many martial art forms dating back to the last century. Next to the studio is a large gym then a swimming centre and behind this is a small mirrored studio with pinewood floor- perfect as Blaze is also a trained dancer and dance teacher and it would be great to make full use of this. This district definitely has more facilities and money invested into it compared to the Red District.

Seven other officers including Lieutenants Davidson and Auberry-Mason who are the only other reds walk in and stand waiting. Lieutenant Yeung arrives to greet the class and everyone bows.

"Today we will focus on self-defence techniques such as those used in Aikido that we can use in various situations. First I will need a volunteer attacker"

One of the Central officers puts himself forward. Yeung is a good teacher, knowledgeable and clearly experienced in his field. He demonstrates three different scenarios with and without a knife, explaining in slow motion what the officers can do to defend themselves from the three types of attacks before restraining the culprit. Blaze pays attention and respects the teacher, but in all honesty this is pretty basic for someone with her fighting abilities but she can understand the mixed level of the class, making it difficult for the teacher.

He then asks the group to pair themselves up initially then swap around each time, practising these exercises. Blaze keeps a low profile, doing what is asked of her and cooperating- the last thing she needs is more problems after this morning. "Fucking great, now I have to work with Stuart". Her current partner Davidson responds: "Good luck then".

The group continue their attack-defence routine as Yeung goes around correcting his students.

Stuart: "Yo Fielding, looks like we will be working together a bit longer" he comments with a smirk on his face.

Blaze bites her tongue, avoiding the confrontation and gets on with the exercises ahead. It's now her turn to act as the attacker. With force, Stuart carries out the defence exercises a couple of times with the aim of provoking her. On the third exercise, he takes it upon himself to restrain her on the ground, pushing himself against her back with his hand moving downwards. "You know this is giving me a hard-on right now don't you?" he whispers in her ear. Blaze immediately reacts, quickly freeing herself and flipping him over before punching him in the face and breaking his nose.

There is blood everywhere. "Fucking bitch look what she's done to me!".

Yeung: "Someone get a medic right now!….. Explain yourself"

Blaze: "Sensei I followed all the exercises properly, you didn't have to correct me once and you know I'm a respectful fighter. He took it too far and I had no choice"

Yeung: "The pair of you both need to file a report along with these witnesses" Stuart is taken away with the medic. "Either way, if there was a problem Fielding, you should have spoken to me directly and reported it. You will need to report to your superior immediately!"

'Shit, I'm definitely getting a strike now'.

Reluctantly, she is escorted back up to the 6th floor- its pot luck right now if its Hunter she has to speak with its not too bad, if it's the blond military guy then there's definitely a strike in it for her….


	5. Chapter 4- Syndicate strike

**Chapter 4**

The moment of truth- Blaze is on the 6th floor now being escorted to one of the offices by a member of staff. The door says _'Captain A Hunter'_ – what a relief! 'No problem whatsoever, Adam will file a report and will believe my side as to what happened, he knows me and I never start a fight' Blaze thinks to herself. The officer who escorted her sits her down before saying: "Wait here".

Five minutes pass and there is no sign of Adam.

The officer is now back, "I'm sorry Miss Fielding. Agent Hunter is still at his lunch meeting outside however Agent Stone will be up to see you in the next five minutes, please can you make your way towards his office".

'Shit! Fucking bollocks! Could this day get any worse now?' Blaze tries to keep herself composed, still in her sweat pants and blood stained t-shirt.

She hears a voice around the corner "Are you fucking kidding me? She is too much trouble"

Axel makes his way around the corner to unlock the office door before holding it open. Blaze remains seated outside playing with her hair, ignoring him holding the door.

Axel: "Fielding get up now and get in my office!" A couple of admin staff on the floor find the drama amusing so Axel closes the door once they enter and pulls shut the blinds behind them. He can't stop them eavesdropping outside however and the whole hall becomes silent to listen to the telling off, a bit like being at school when a member of the class gets in trouble.

She gives him the obligatory salute.

"Agent Auberry-Mason is now off duty, he has been taken into hospital- you broke his fucking nose and now he's planning to sue your ass! He will probably also need reconstructive surgery". Axel's face has turned slightly red now and he is clearly pissed off more than earlier based on his raised voice.

Blaze: "He had it coming to him"

Axel: "All witnesses as well as Mason have submitted their initial statements pending review, if we are not careful you could be facing prosecution"

Blaze: "What? If anything, I should be taking his ass to court for gross misconduct!... Oh let me guess, the male cowards in the room failed to mention his vile behaviour in their statements"

Axel: "Is that an accusation?"

Blaze: "You're a smart guy. Take a look at the CCTV for yourself right now from the gym! He was being overly forceful and he tried to touch me whilst whispering to me details about his hard-on. Yes I will mention this in my statement and I don't regret breaking his nose. I wasn't going to let him get away with it!"

Axel: "You should have reported it immediately instead of taking the law into your own hands"

Blaze: "I was defending myself…. And for the record it did feel great breaking his nose"

She notices him typing away at his computer- "What are you doing?"

Axel: "I'm trying to access the CCTV footage from the gym so that you have evidence in your favour as he has requested that you get suspended… shit"

Blaze: "What's wrong?"

Axel: "The CCTV camera is down, it appears to be faulty or turned off since this morning... I'll send maintenance to check…. That's strange"

Blaze: "I knew coming to this place was a bad idea, now my career is screwed"

Axel continues to focus on the monitor: "It appears that none of the other CCTV cameras are operating inside or outside of the building"

The pair look at each other in disbelief before hearing a loud bang coming from downstairs….

They immediately run out of the office towards the stairwell all the way down to the ground floor where the threat lies. "Take this" Axel says as digs out a spare 9mm hand gun from his belt and throws it back towards Blaze who is running just behind him. They make it quickly to the ground floor where there is blood, chaos with some members of staff panicking, evacuating or tending to the wounded. Three motorbikes have crashed, driving into the building through each of the large glass windows past security. The culprits have then used their guns and knives to attack civilians in the building. Two of the drivers are badly injured and have been restrained on the floor. Axel quickly spots the third gunmen and immediately shoots him in the head from a distance.

Just when they think the incident has been dealt with, Blaze spots a loud motorbike riding close to the building outside, stopping to view the damage. The driver this time wearing black leather gear and a blacked out helmet. Straight away she runs through the broken glass outside, chasing the bike before jumping on the back of it then fighting with driver to take the controls. At least five more riders are now on the scene. She successfully forces him off the bike before attempting to shoot the others speeding by her side around the building. Axel is now outside and spots another one speeding up straight towards him- 'shit, there was only one bullet left in the gun'.

As the rider draws closer, with one flying kick Axel knocks him off before the moving motorbike tips on its side and crashes into a truck parked on the opposite side of the road. The bike immediately explodes.

The public on the streets outside are screaming, running and are in panic mode right now from all of the gun shots and chases. Axel spots Adam in his police car- "Where have you been?" as he jumps in. Adam: "Sorry I had stuff to take care of… these fuckers are all syndicate" he says as he hands Axel a knife. They catch two of the bikers who are now riding by each side of the car, trying to shoot them.

Axel: "Speed up the car now"

He climbs out of his window, holding onto the side of the car before jumping on the biker knocking him to the ground. Another explosion as the bike crashes into a wall. Both men seem injured but they continue to fight one another on the ground before Axel slits the biker's throat with the knife.

Adam is still on the chase with the other biker on his side, he decides to take his foot off the gas before aiming and shooting the back tyre of the bike which then crashes into another on-coming police car, immediately sending the rider flying off onto the windscreen killing him instantly.

Adam drives back towards his partner- "Ax you alright?"

Axel gets back in the car- "Blaze was chasing the other one towards the bridge lets go there"

The radio is booming at the moment with other police cars coming in as backup.

Blaze and the last biker are travelling very fast and aggressively towards the bridge past the harbour. They are now off-road high up on the edge of a steep slope leading down to the river. Her gun is empty and she is struggling as the other rider is forcing her bike closer to the edge of the drop. Adam can see the chase from a distance and decides to detour. Adam knows the roads here like the back of his hand and with the help of a police helicopter above on radio, he is able to track the rider.

"If we can cut through harbour way in time, we will catch him".

Axel reaches for the radio – "Officer Peters, I need an accurate update now on how far they are from Harbour way?"

Officer Peters (in the chopper): "Half a mile now… 700m…"

Adam: "Were almost there"

Officer Peters: "it's clear right now, 400m…. 300m…. 200m…."

Axel: "Now!"

Adam's police car quickly emerges from the side of the block, forcing the rider to swerve and fall off. As he tries to get up to escape Blaze is right behind him where she jumps off of her bike to tackle the thug back to the ground. He tries to fight back but she is too fast, avoiding his attempts to hit her.

By the time her two bosses have witnessed the scene and have rushed over, Blaze has dealt with the biker, restraining him with his hands behind his back and keeping him on the ground.

Adam: "I told you she was a good fighter"

Axel goes over to the biker and cuffs his hands, making the obligatory arrest statement after removing the injured biker's helmet then arresting him.

More police arrive on the scene along with paramedics. All three cops surprisingly are treated for minor injuries.

Adam: "Well two out of five now in custody is not too bad" including the biker Blaze fought back at the station.

Axel: "Maybe we can get some more information out of them". He glances over at Blaze as they cross paths. "Good work Fielding but you're not off the hook yet" He continues to walk away towards the police car.

Blaze muttering under her breath: "Tosser"

Axel: "I heard that….and don't think I don't know what that means!"

The trio have a moment of laughter before they are driven back to the office.

* * *

Another beautiful red sunset on a summer's evening. This time Tiger is sat outside on his large terrace admiring the view of trees and orange sky feeling tranquillity. He is the third most senior member of the syndicate hierarchy, overseeing the supply and distribution of drugs and trafficking in all of Wood Oak's territories. Some would say he is the ultimate business man of the syndicate. He started out as a low life drug dealer when Mr X found him before discovering his fighting capabilities. Today he has moved up in the world, has seen the syndicate evolve making him a very rich and powerful man. Reflecting on a hard day's work and another Saturday evening ahead, he unbuttons the top of his white shirt before downing his glass of whiskey.

 _#Mobile phone rings#_

"Good evening", his illusive boss Mr X is demanding an update over the phone….

Tiger: "Yes, the arrangement we made for today was a success. We lost some of them, the couple left have been taken in…. of course, I will see to it that nothing more is said"

 _#Hangs up#_

Donovan accompanied with two other men and two women knocks on the terrace door.

Tiger looks back at the door. "I think you lovely people should come outside here and admire the view"

The group enters the terrace.

Tiger points to the L shape sofa he is sitting on as well as some chairs. "Take a seat"

One of the ladies looking slightly hesitant sits next to Tiger as he puts his arm around her.

Tiger: "So have you found the kid yet Donovan?"

Donovan: "No, I'm working on it. I tried the local schools, nothing. The thugs he deals with, nothing yet".

Tiger clenching his fists in annoyance sighs: "Why do you think the syndicate are a living success?" He is clearly perplexed.

Donovan shrugs: "We have great leaders?"

Tiger laughs: "Because whenever there is a spec of shit in our business, we clean it straight away"

Donovan Pauses.

Tiger: "This boy has seen my face… HE SAW MY FUCKING FACE!" he shouts "And, he knows where we are. You need to take care of this now! Next time I don't want any fucking excuses, understood?"

Donovan nods, fully aware of the consequences. He notices one of the women, a tall blond in a long red dress holding a machete glaring at him.

Tiger looks up at her and smiles: "Sorry sweetheart, not today"

His view then turns to the younger blond lady sitting beside him. "Someone told me you saw X today"

She replies with a southern accent, shaken but smiling: "Tiger, I really can't remember! I was so high off my face I don't know what he did I really can't remember his face".

He takes her shaking arm where he can see the needle marks then gently moves her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear.

"I remember when they picked you up from that country bar and bought you to me. You were my favourite that night, so beautiful and you smelt so good"

She looks into his eyes as he continues: "You know, he is the most important part of our organisation. It's such a pity, you were one of our best girls at one point. The clients would request you, now this coke addiction has messed up that beautiful face" he looks into her eyes while she nods in agreement.

"I'm sorry Tiger, I mean, I'm cutting down I know you said too much was no good"

Tiger: "I know you've been trying. Come, let me show you something".

He takes her hand and they both stand. He then puts his other hand in front of her, his palm facing up. He illuminates a bright yellow flame from his hand, shocking but fascinating her.

Tiger: "Don't be afraid. It's my chi, my energy. See the thing is, with each of you women beauty fades. But this, this is the most beautiful and powerful thing alive. I wanted you to see this before you die"

A look of horror dooms on her face and she screams as one of the other men pushes her off the terrace.

Tiger observes from the top of the terrace the ground below where her body is laying. "Like I said, he is the most important part of our organisation and I take no risks". Donovan heard this loud and clear.


	6. Chapter 5- Deep sleep

**Chapter 5**

Adam walks back into the crime scene of the broken headquarters of WOCCD building. Security and forensics are working hard scanning the building for any more dangers or clues that have led to this afternoon's catastrophe. All officers and administrative staff have been stationed elsewhere, either on duty or at one of the other smaller offices. The building is on lockdown, only accessible to the highest officers, investigators and the DC.

Axel sees him and gets up from examining one of the bikes that initially crashed into the building. "O'Neil is on his way now on his own, he's cancelled the visit with Chief Clark".

Adam shaking his head: "I never thought this would happen here, security was tight! So far, we've found seven officers dead. Stab wounds and shots after the crashes plus over thirty of ours injured. We need to examine everyone and everything that has entered this building over the last three weeks".

Axel: "You know the CCTV was off since this morning. Someone set this up!"

Adam: "I'll look into this to see who was logged on this morning. If it is a hacker I'll be damned, our system is the best in the city and its one motherfucker to access"

Axel: "It's got to have been someone in the building. Possibly an admin if it's not an officer or anyone who came in for deliveries who accessed a senior login… I really don't know".

Adam: "When you looked at the CCTV, what time was it before it cut off?"

Axel: "Just after 9am"

Adam: "That can't be right, all the officers were either signed out and stationed outside or were in … 9am briefing…"

They look at each other in disbelief knowing what each other is thinking.

Axel: "You know her better than anyone here, I don't trust her but do you really think she would plan something like this?"

Adam: "No! I don't think so. But she is smart enough and capable enough"

Axel: "It's your decision if you want to take it up with O'Neil or not. I trust your judgement either way"

Adam: "Thanks, I need to think on this and investigate it further before we make a decision. I don't understand though why she would?"

Axel: "What do you mean?"

Adam: "Ok, this is classified information between us that doesn't leave this room. Her whole family were a rival cartel of the syndicate when they moved over here. Her uncle was the big time drug distributor Petrov Ali, who got his supplies from Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Blaze was a kid sent off to boarding school back in England when the syndicate claimed all of their territory here. In doing so they murdered her family. She always swore for revenge and was obsessed at one point".

Axel: "When you go through that shit, it either makes you or sends you over the edge. Either way we need to keep our eyes open…"

A voice from the entrance to the building interrupts. It's O'Neil: "Thank you both for your hard work this afternoon. We have questioned and investigated the two you bought in and have found a lead. Nothing is certain at this stage but it's connected to Agent Davidson, one of the best hackers in the city"

Adam: "That makes sense, someone tapped into the CCTV this morning and cut it off"

O'Neil: "He's being taken in where Chief Clark will have further questioning before he is charged, sent to protective custody then put on trial".

Axel: "Seven dead! If Davidson is behind this and found guilty with the others he will face the needle. Either way, those men were syndicate employees so we need to be sure"

O'Neil: "I have confidence that we will get to the bottom of this in a matter of days. In the meantime this building needs to be cleaned and cleared once the evidence is gathered by Monday. I won't let today's events damage the Chief's faith in us".

Axel never was a fan of O'Neil, he respected him as his superior but hated the fact that his pride of work and reputation came first, even over the loss of life.

O'Neil: "I need at least one of you two stationed here for the next few days until the forensics are done and I want you to continue investigating the other five that arrived with Davidson in case they are connected. They don't know this but they will be taken into questioning at some point before the trial".

The officers agree and salute him before he continues upstairs to his office.

Adam: "Fuck, man this is the worst weekend for this to happen. Ax I need you to cover for me just for the next two days or so"

Axel: "You know Saturday night is crazy right? I don't know, I have to be here and run the rest of the department scattered elsewhere"

Adam: "I know I'm sorry. It's just, Sammy- he's in trouble and I need to see him. You know I wouldn't bail on you especially today if it wasn't urgent."

Axel: "Okay, I understand he's family. Do what you need to do"

He can see the urgency in Adam's face, "Thank you bro, I appreciate the help".

* * *

9pm and the streets of the suburbs are quiet except the small number of local bars and restaurants. Most residents don't like to venture out at night especially since the syndicate have been expanding their territory outwards. Violent crime has been on the rise over the past six months leaving many residents scared to leave their homes at night.

Adam is sat in the jeep with Sammy in the passenger side. He knows that Sammy has not left the house for the last two days and has been acting very withdrawn. It's also rare for Adam to have a Saturday night off so this is the perfect opportunity to clear the air with his kid brother.

Adam: "Fancy a burger kid?" Sammy gives him a nod "alright!"

They arrive at the same bar they always use to visit each week after boxing when they moved out here. It hasn't changed much except for the fact that it's near empty for a Saturday night. The waitress immediately comes over to their table. "What can I get the two of you to drink?"

Adam quickly responds: "Can I get a beer?... Actually, make it two!"

Sammy smiles and responds: "Can we also get two stacked-steak house burgers, both medium, one with blue cheese the other with regular and bacon, two sides of chilli fries, one plate of onion rings and a pot of barbecue sauce please".

The waitress smiles, "anything else I can get you?"

Sammy: "No, that will be fine". She turns to Adam: "I'm so sorry sir but I need to see some ID for this guy here as he looks under 21".

Adam: "He is actually 15"

Waitress: "I'm sorry sir but I…"

Adam: "Its ok, one won't hurt". He shows her his badge and she gives Sammy a wink.

The evening is going better than expected so far, great food, good beer and lots of talk including football, video games and Adam's routine of giving advice on women. He doesn't want to rock the boat but he knows he needs to ask…

Adam: "Sammy, so er what's going on at school and with your friends?"

Sammy: "Nothing. You were right though about Kadeem and the others. They're just a bunch of pussies who have nothing better to do than stir up shit".

Adam looks surprised but relieved that Sammy has seen sense.

Sammy continues: "School sucks though, especially the last few weeks the results weren't my best but I still have time to ace next semester's exams after the Summer break. This is why I wanted to ask you something…"

Adam: "What is it?"

Sammy: "I've been looking at other schools and there's an academy outside of Wood Oak called Bellfield. Its full of white kids but I know I can get in and they offer scholarships, it's also near aunty Gloria's house so I don't have to worry about…"

Adam looking shocked replies: "Sammy you have one more year left before college! Finish the exams where you are then go where you want. What's the rush and sudden change of heart? And your family are here not 200 miles away!"

Sammy: "But I want to do this, I want a new start"

Adam: "Why? What are you running away from? Something's up, since when was school the top of your priorities?"

Sammy insists "Nothing is up, I'm fine! Two weeks left of school but I don't see the point in staying here, there's nothing here for me. I don't want to be around the life here anymore I wish you would understand".

Adam: "You know if something is bothering you, or if you're in any trouble I can help you"

Sammy: "I know bro. I've thought this through and this is what I want!"

Adam pauses then responds: "Ok. I will give Aunty Gloria a call in the morning and we will discuss how you can apply. As long as this really is what you want. You can break the news to Keri and Sasha though".

Although Adam and Sammy have had their wars, they have always stuck it out and have never lived separately. This decision is difficult for the both of them to come to terms with but Sammy knows that this is the only way out to save himself and to keep his family out of danger.

Adam: "Can we get the bill please?"

It's a difficult drive home and a sad end to an emotional couple of days. They pull up by the house.

Adam: "You best get those grades, otherwise you know what your aunt is like- she'll whoop your ass!" Both of them laugh.

Sammy: "Thanks for the burger"

Adam: "And all the other food you better not be hungry now! Listen, I need to get back to work for the night shift. A lot of shit has gone down today at our office and I have to work on it. Use your key and try not to wake the girls. I'll see you in the morning".

Sammy: "Okay"

* * *

11pm and Adam has been driving for half an hour with the radio on. The attack on the Police Department is the highlight on the news and he is sick of hearing it over and over again. He pulls up outside another bar in two minds to get out. Eventually he gives in and enters the bar 'one drink won't hurt after they day I've had'.

Again this place is quiet, no sign of trouble at the moment except the big screen above the bar displaying the news. There's just no getting away from it! The barman comes over to Adam, "Hey, what can I get you?"

Adam: "Can I get a Hennessey and Coke, make it a double".

Five drinks later and Adam is telling a group of tourists at the bar his life story: "You know, I use to be a boxing champion before I quit to become a fed…. Worst mistake I ever made!" The barman can see he is tipsy but he isn't causing any trouble. "Ladies here I'm sorry though, I'm blessed I got my woman and my daughter and I'm happy. I don't deserve them though" his expression changes to sadness. "My kid brother- he's leaving! I hope he makes a better life than me." One of the guys in the group responds "Here, let me get you another drink".

Adam nods and laughs "If Keri or my best friend were he they would kick my ass right now, thanks man. Make it a double!"

3am, the group have dispersed and the bar is empty. The barman comes over to Adam: "Sorry sir, were closing up now. There's a cheap motel about half a mile up the road I think you should consider it".

Adam: "Thanks but I'm fine, my whip is outside"

The barman reaches over to Adam's pocket as he can barely stand and pulls his keys and wallet out.

Adam: "Hey! What the fuck are you doing!?"

Barman: "I'm sorry man you're in no fit state to drive and you could lose your job! Sleep it off!" He snatches the keys back and runs out into the street, shouting then falling asleep on a bench. As the bar closes, a police car pulls up next to the bench with two Green District officers. "Thank you for calling us out, don't worry we know this guy and we can take him home to sleep it off as long as he hasn't caused you any trouble. He will be fine in the morning and can collect his car when he has sobered up".

* * *

Late night at the office and finally things are starting to quieten down after a hectic night. Axel is on his third coffee waiting for the night to be done so that he can get some sleep. The usually busy office is almost empty with only a handful of plane clothe senior officers working in their own confinement downstairs. DC O'Neil has left and the other officers who usually do the night shift are stationed at their posts on the streets or the other buildings.

 _#Door knocks#_

"Hey, thought you might be hungry?" Its Jess holding up two take out bags smelling like chicken ramen noodles, always a treat at 3am. He replies, "Come in!" Starving, he starts on the noodles straight away.

Axel: "I thought you finished your shift already?"

Jess: "I did, but I had some loose ends to take care of. Listen, I want to apologise for not following protocol the other day. There was a bit of confusion, Adam gave us different paperwork at the beginning of that day- see?" She hands over the itinerary for that day saying where she was stationed.

Axel: "I see, he must have made a mistake as there was no one stationed at the harbour"

Jess: "Whatever miscommunication you guys got going on, please fix it. I don't want to trouble either of you with any mix ups"

Axel: "Sorry. And thank you and Brian for your help, we busted a major operation by chance!"

She smiles, "Hey, do you want a coffee or anything? I'm just about to make one"

Axel: "Sure, thanks".

Ten minutes later and Jess is back with two cups of the proper smelling fresh coffee made from one of the shops still open a couple of blocks away.

Axel: "Well these beat the machines downstairs!" they both laugh.

Jess: "I figured you could use a bit of help tonight and tomorrow. I heard Adam is out of office for the rest of the weekend"

Axel: "Thanks, it's quietened down a bit now so I think it will be ok"

Jess looks at his computer "Woah you've dealt with all these calls tonight?"

Axel: "It's just another Saturday night!"

Jess: "Yes but I can't believe O'Neil or Hunter would forget and not let you off, especially when today is…"

Tonight marks the start of the month July 1st, a date stained on his memory when his parents were robbed at gunpoint at their home then murdered by the syndicate while he was serving in the military.

Jess: "I'm sorry I mentioned it" she stands behind where he is sitting and puts her hand on his shoulder. He takes her hand and has a moment to think about the guilt he feels every day knowing that he was doing everything he could to protect his country and save others but he wasn't there to save the two most important people in the world. She leans forward to kiss him, any distraction now from the guilt is what he needs and they waste no time in going further and making out…

* * *

Insomnia, sleeping paralysis, lucid dreams you name it! It's very rare that Blaze gets a decent night's sleep despite having a busy day. Often when she is up in the middle of the night she will either read the news to go back to sleep, feed the stray cats and dogs outside, train judo or blast out music and dance around the front room. Her one bedroom apartment is small but cosy and high up. It's perfect for someone living on their own but it's a bit of a bitch when the elevator is out of service to run up ten floors. The views are somewhat ok if you like parking lots and supermarkets. The neighbourhood is rough but everyone keeps to themselves including Blaze who is hardly ever home. This couldn't be anymore further than the luxuries she had back in London but she made the right decision to leave and is determined to make a success of it.

Tonight is different though and there is something that must be worked on. The small front room is quiet and darkened with eight little candles in a large circle on the floor. Blaze has been sat with her eyes closed on the floor for the past two hours in the middle of the circle finding energy, relaxation and concentration. She takes a deep breath in before opening her palms out to emit two small blue energy orbs, one over each palm. She opens her eyes while holding onto this built up energy she is developing and controlling. It's illuminating and beautiful but intense, hot and painful on her palms all at the same time. It has drawn all of the energy from the room and has blown out the flames of the candles.

The intensity is starting to become too much now, too painful and draining. Blaze quickly closes her palms and the two orbs that have lit up the room instantly vanish. She feels breathless and weak. Every time she practises accessing her chi, she gets stronger and stronger but it is frustrating and frightening because that small amount of energy drains the mind and body and weakens it for a short period of time. Until she can master this and use it to her advantage, it is going to be one uphill struggle. The room becomes blurred to the point where she is so drained that she cannot sit up anymore and collapses down where she lays on the floor. Finally one good thing out of this- deep sleep!


	7. Chapter 6- Hot chocolate fix

**Chapter 6**

Five days have passed and finally the restoration work on the ground floor is almost finished. DC O'Neil has signed off the final checks that the building is safe and all security has been stepped up and systems updated. For many, this is their first day back at the Wood Oak Central Police Department HQ. They have moved around temporary offices throughout the last few days. Work was quickly done as a matter of urgency given how important this place is in the city.

8am and things are strangely getting back to normal with speed. DC O'Neil spots Axel in one of the corridors on the fifth floor. "Good morning Stone, can you report to my office just before briefing". He gives the obligatory salute and nods.

Axel arrives at the office a couple of doors down from his own except it is much nicer and has double the amount of resources and furnishings. "Please, take a seat" DC points to the chair opposite his desk.

DC: "I know that we haven't always seen eye to eye in the past but I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for all of your hard work over the past week."

DC O'Neil never liked employing ex-military, he must have always viewed them as a threat.

Axel: "I was just doing my job, Sir"

DC: "Yes, you stayed here overseeing and allocating the work that all of the officers on duty were carrying out from other premises. Also this place would not be up and running the way it is now without your dedication and commitment. It's truly impressive!"

Axel: "Thank you Sir"

DC: "You know I have been working on the force for almost 40 years now. Between you and me, I'm planning on retiring in the next 18 months though. You are young for this role but given the responsibility and initiative you have shown on and off the field, I would seriously consider applying for the Deputy Chief Role if I were you once my retirement is announced".

Axel feeling stunned has never been praised like this before from O'Neil, "Thank you, I will take it into consideration if the time is right".

DC: "You're the best agent in the city, think about it… I don't suppose you have heard from your partner since Saturday have you?"

Axel: "Hunter is on his annual leave at the moment, he filed for it at the beginning of the year but it says that he should return on Monday". Clearly this is a lie but he bought it.

DC: "I see. It's just a shame that his holiday time clashed with our restoration. Either way you managed without him here and the work is done so that's the main thing. Speaking of leave, I'm out of the office for the rest of today and tomorrow attending Davidson's first hearing outside Wood Oak. The sooner this gets sorted out the better".

Axel: "Are you sure that's a good idea with more officers and cadets returning here today and tomorrow? And Adam still on leave?"

DC: "Yes. Now that means you will be in charge here and any officers need to report to you. Your team can assist with your Captain responsibilities but any cases must be cleared through you. It will mean that you need to remain in the office for now whilst on duty. I need you to chair any meetings with attorneys and I will need you to attend the district meeting on my behalf in City Hall tomorrow with the local government officials."

Axel: "I was hoping that…."

DC: "It won't be a problem will it? Of course I will make sure you follow my same shift pattern, an added bonus will be in your paycheque at the end of the month and all the paperwork and everything you need is in my office. Here is the key".

Axel: "No, no problem. I assure you that everything will be in order by the time you get back"

DC: "Good. Take this as a valuable experience when you apply for the role. Next time I meet with Chief Clark at the next commissioner's event, I want you present so that you can get to know him and how he works".

Axel: "Thank you again, that would be a great honour"

DC: "Thank you for putting your career first. See the difference between you and Hunter is, although you are ex-military, he has his commitments- a wife practically, a young child and a minor to look after".

Axel: "He seems to have still landed an outstanding and honourable role in the department".

DC: "Yes of course, he is excellent at his job, one of the best we've ever known. But to go beyond, family life doesn't exist in this career. You are in the perfect position almost at the peak of your career and even in your thirties, you have none of those commitments to worry about. That means there are no distractions and your career takes priority".

Axel: "Well that is true and I always work hard to bring justice to the city, taking down criminals because it's what I believe in".

DC: "Well said. I know what the beginning of July means to you and I know that what you achieve every day won't bring your parents back but I'm certain they would be incredibly proud of you today".

Still composed as ever before he replies "Thank you Sir, I'm sure they will be one day when we take down the organisation who murdered them".

DC O'Neil lets off a smile- a very rare sight. "So first I need you to chair today's briefing, here is the paperwork….."

* * *

9am so far so good, all officers due in have made it on time to briefing so there shouldn't be any hick ups. Axel addresses the conference room, this time by himself. Jess in the front row looks up at him puzzled, it's as if he vanished, becoming a hermit buried in his work over the last five days and not returning any of her calls.

"Good morning lieutenants, officers and cadets and welcome back to Central Department HQ. As you would have noticed, we have already completed restoration of the ground floor and an update of our online security. You will find new log in details but all else has remained the same. Currently, DC O'Neil is out of office for the next two days, ensuring that the organisers of Saturday's events are bought to justice as well as releasing statements to the press. I am limited in the information I can disclose on the hearing taking place but rest assured that the evidence has been gathered and any decisions will be finalised over the next six weeks."

He continues: "I speak for all when I say that I am deeply shocked and saddened by the loss of six officers and one cadet last week. They fought bravely, served us well and paid the ultimate sacrifice that being on the force entails. At 5pm today before the evening shift, a vigil will be held in the communal garden where all staff and family members of the victims are welcome. We also send our best wishes to all of those injured last weekend and commend any officers that fought to defend our premises, preventing further devastation." For a second, he glances over to the back of the room where Blaze is sitting before completing the day's briefing.

"Before you go, please note that Captain Hunter is on leave until Monday so if there are any issues or cases that need review, please continue to report them directly to me. Briefing adjourned".

He couldn't get out of there fast enough. Axel can handle a lot but at times it does feel like the weight of the world is on his shoulders and today is not one for any distractions. Everything must return to normal as quickly as possible.

* * *

Surprisingly a successful morning with no hick ups. 'This DC role is not that difficult after all' Axel thinks to himself having completed all of the paper work, phone calls, case reviews as well as some of his own duties and its only 12:30. Time for a lunch break.

Usually him and Adam stop off at the local Italian place Benito's to pick up some lunch and snacks if they have a free half hour especially when the ques for Subway and Starbucks are stretching out onto the sidewalk this time of day. He also wants to avoid bumping into Jess, she doesn't like this particular place as she once had a confrontation with the manager so he decides that it makes sense to stop off here to buy lunch and maybe a free coffee to go with it as he is a regular.

This is truly a treat for half an hour. The opportunity to sit outside on the bench in plain clothes being a normal person having their lunch in peace and quiet. Today is a beautiful sunny day and Axel can see the rest of the city rushing by from sky scraper to sky scraper but none of it is distracting him from his own calm.

From a distance he can see a few cops coming out of Benito's in uniform with their lunch dispersing back to the office. One of them is deciding to donate their lunch to an old homeless man sitting on another bench who responds to her "Thank you and God bless you" he says.

Oblivious that Axel has walked up behind her, he says "Hey, your lunch break isn't for another half hour yet Fielding!"

This startles the crap out of Blaze who ends up dropping her hot drink on the floor which sends the old man into hysterical laughter. She is not impressed at all!

Blaze: "Did you have to do that? Now look, my new uniform is stained already!" She frantically examines the front of her uniform. "And I did everything I had to this morning! You seriously got some nerve telling…."

He interrupts trying not to laugh "I'm sorry, it's cool, really don't worry about it! Can I get you another coffee?"

Blaze: "I don't drink coffee, especially over here!" He looks slightly surprised at her response.

Axel: "Ok, so what was that then? How do you have so much energy?"

Blaze: "It's called hot chocolate and it's much better for you than caffeine"

Axel: "Ok, hot chocolate it is then!"

Blaze: "No thank you! If you don't mind now boss, like you said I need to be back on duty. Bye."

Abruptly she starts walking off when he notices a red mark on her hand.

Axel: "Wait!"

Blaze: "What now boss?"

Axel: "What happened to your hand? That looks painful"

Blaze, trying to conceal the mark "It's nothing. I erm got this new metallic kettle at my flat yesterday. Stupid thing was faulty and after I tried making a drink I went to pick it up with my hands and got electrocuted. It's nothing major, I will be fine!"

'She is such a bad liar' he thinks to himself having seen all types of injuries and burns over the years since being in the military.

Axel: "Why don't you get that checked out by one of the medics back at HQ before it gets infected? It will only take five minutes, I'll tell Cooper to cover the rest of your shift".

Blaze: "Ok, thanks".

Anything to get him off her case, she agrees and leaves to get on with her day.

* * *

 _#phone rings#_

Axel: "DC O'Neil… yes everything is running smoothly I'm at the office now back from lunch and things seem to be back to normal. How is it over there? ….. Really? For the rest of the week?... Ok please have them emailed to me".

 _#hangs up#_

Worker exploitation? Or simply taking the piss! Looks like DC O'Neil may be away for longer than expected. 'Adam better get his shit together pronto' Axel thinks to himself. He spots Cooper in the corridor outside of the office "Hey Cooper, thanks for covering earlier".

Cooper: "No problem Captain, happy to help".

Axel: "Listen, I need to sort something out outside the office for 20 minutes. If anyone needs to urgently get hold of me tell them I will be back at 2pm and if it's urgent I have my cell on me".

* * *

Last part of the lunch break left and 20 minutes until combat training for the day. Blaze is starting to find her way around, becoming use to the schedule and limited time around here and she is feeling much more settled. Her shared office is on the fifth floor with two other colleagues, Lieutenant Nadine Bilson who she is friends with from the Red District and Lieutenant Cody Walker who has helped to explain some of the cases being worked on to the two newbies.

Blaze: "Hey guys, any updates since I've been out?"

Cody: "Not really, surprisingly quiet today. I guess it's the aftermath of last week or the calm before the storm" he responds as he is typing away at his computer.

Nadine: "We are stationed by the harbour at 15:30 after combat training today by the way". Blaze gives her a nod as she walks over to her desk by the window noticing a tall Benito's closed cup of hot chocolate.

Blaze: "Aw thanks Nadine, you read my mind! This will help me kick some ass in the gym" she laughs.

Nadine: "What are you talking about?"

Blaze: "The hot chocolate! Just the way I like it, marshmallows and chocolate sprinkles yum!"

Cody jokingly interrupts: "You are such a child Fielding! Next time I know what drink to get you. How can you even drink that in the summer anyway? That thing was there when Nadine and I came back from lunch about five minutes ago".

Blaze: "Oh, right." As she picks it up she finds a piece of paper folded and taped to the cup on the other side. She opens it to read:

' _Thought you could do with one of these before training'_.

Before she can take a sip Nadine snatches the note. "Girl, looks like someone knows what you like!" She laughs "Blaze is the only girl I know who would choose hot chocolate over flowers any day! How romantic I want to know who he is! Is he hot?"

Blaze: "Give me that!" She snatches back the note, screws it up and throws it in the bin. "I'm not interested in this stupid note but I will not waste a good hot chocolate!"

Nadine: "Looks like someone rattled her cage, I will say no more." A minute later she catches Blaze smiling to herself.

* * *

 _#Door Bell Rings#_

Keri checks the CCTV before opening the door, "Hey Axel, thank you for coming over again!"

Axel: "How is he?"

Keri: "You'd better see for yourself" pointing to the office upstairs.

Axel knocks and tries to open the locked door but there's no answer "Adam? Yo Adam you in there?" He can hear the radio on full blast.

Axel: "Adam open the door now or I'm going to break it down myself". Becoming impatient, he kicks open the door to find Adam standing up with an empty bottle of vodka in his hand charging forward with it. Axel quickly dodges the bottle which gets smashed into the wall, clearly Adam is drunk and off his face.

Axel: "What the fuck, where did you get this!?"

Adam shouts back: "Don't come into my home telling me how to run my life! I'm not the crooked cop here, fuck you Stone!" Adam throws a jab catching Axel off guard, hitting his partner in the face. It feels like a ton of bricks. If anyone can throw a decent, fast punch its Adam, even when he is drunk. Axel quickly responds, pushing then throwing him onto a glass table, breaking it instantly. Its chaos with both of them beating the crap out of each other, Axel trying to refrain himself and Adam stumbling all over the place with the pair of them demolishing the office.

A quiet voice by the door suddenly shocks the two men out of their fight and they immediately halt. "Daddy, what's going on?" Sasha is scared and has run upstairs worried from all of the commotion while Keri and Sammy have chased after her.

Keri trying to stay composed: "Sammy please take her downstairs!" He picks his niece up and carries her away from the scene.

Axel looks Adam in the eye: "Adam, you need to fix this now. Look at your daughter, your family! You're going to lose them and everything you've ever had unless you quit this. You can do this, you've come clean before its hurting Sasha can't you see? You owe it to her to do this".

Adam and Keri break down where all the built up anger in the room has become tears and regret. Adam looks up at Keri, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! Please don't go, don't take my daughter away. I'm sorry I never meant to hurt you".

Keri trying to stop the tears responds: "I can't keep doing this. When your better we will be here but I can't keep doing this Adam things need to change!"

Axel helps his friend up off the floor and out of the room, walking him downstairs and outside into the car.

Axel: "Keri if you want he can stay at my apartment for a few days while he gets help. I'll make sure it's an alcohol free zone and will take care of things at work while he gets himself back on his feet.

Keri wiping her face: "Yeah I think that's a good idea, we need some space but we will call over the next few days to see how he is doing".

Axel: "I'll contact the councillor he was working with to visit as soon as possible. Hopefully he can make a difference again".

Keri: "Yeah, thank you for your help. Things have been really difficult lately but we need him to come clean for good this time… Ax I'm expecting…"

Axel: "Wow, does he know?"

Keri: "No, I just found out myself. I'm waiting for him to sober up before I break the news to him. We will be ok, Sammy is here and he's been a big help over the past few days with Sasha while he's taking time out from school".

Axel: "Okay, if you or Sammy need anything don't hesitate to call. You know how strong Adam is he will get through this".

She gives him a hug, "Thank you!"


	8. Chapter 7- Final crash

**Chapter 7**

The financial district of Wood Oak City is one clean square mile with barely any drug dealers, junkies or gang members in view on the streets. Aside from the dozens of sky scraper banks and firms, the side streets contain many of the cities' most expensive restaurants, bars and strip clubs. Even better, if you feel like taking a chance on one of your millions after a long day on the stock exchange, why not try one of its three sophisticated casinos. The syndicate have their fingers in every pie in this area and if anything talks as much as violence, its money.

Tiger's limousine pulls up outside of one of the banks.

 _#phone rings#_

Tiger: "I hope you have good news for me Donovan"

Donovan: "Yeah we have confirmation from a local who recognised the skateboard and we have verified his records! It's more than good news boss. His full name is Eddie Sammy Hunter and he lives in the suburbs."

Tiger: "So why haven't you killed him yet and why should I care about this?"

Donovan: "He is the younger brother of Adam Hunter"

Tiger: "Yes. I am familiar with him, I fought with him once in the ring a long time ago now he's one of the cities' most senior officers."

Donovan: "I have all the details now so I can finish his ass and his brother for good"

Tiger: "No, not yet. This kid could be very valuable to us! Keep him alive for now but test him. I need him living and breathing in case Hunter or his associates try to foil our operation. We only have so much control and funds over the feds. To kill a senior officer without good reason would break our agreement. Leave it with me."

 _#Hangs up#_

Tiger is escorted into the bank with his machete loving blond behind him. Beneath her smart, sexy business attire and shades, her weapon is concealed. Both of them enter the elevator leading to the top floor thirty stories up. Tiger hands over a briefcase to her, "Have these funds transferred to Mr X's secondary account before the meeting is up Electra".

She gives him a kiss on the lips in the elevator and exits on the 17th floor with the briefcase. He continues to the top floor where the elevator opens out into a large decorated room with refreshments and a long round table with impeccable views of the financial district below.

Six other powerful associates in suits are sat around the table including the owner of the bank, the cities' head of attorney Bill Cohen and the city Mayor Ellison Rhys. All stand at the table as the chairman of their committee enters the room, accompanied by four Triads behind him.

As soon as this man walks in the room goes quiet. His presence and energy is felt by the whole table. He is tall, broad and dressed smart in a black suit and tie. He has long black hair in a slicked back ponytail.

Shiva is known to all of his associates as the quiet but deadly right hand man of Mr X. He is the most highly skilled member of the syndicate in fighting and his chi is the most powerful known to the syndicate. He has a mixed heritage, his mother's side being Chinese and his father's side part Japanese and part American. He is knowledgeable in all aspects of his culture, superstitious and fluent in over six languages including Japanese, French, Mandarin and Russian. He grew up in Shanghai, training in martial arts since the age of three and attending an American school there for his education.

Shiva prefers action to words and therefore despises these necessary meetings with his associates leading a meaningless life. His advisor, Marcus Wu who is sat next to him at the table starts off the meeting. "Mr X sends his apologies, he will not be attending today's meeting due to other commitments. Let's begin"

The associates around the table sit quietly and patiently as Marcus addresses the room. He starts off with the syndicate finances, "today we have deposited $15 million dollars, opening a new fund dedicated to Mr X's campaign. For now this money will stay put over the next month or so until the campaign begins and will stay fully legit. Any funds left from our drugs and trafficking organisation will continue to be cleaned through our casinos, real estate and strip clubs."

He continues "our aim is to have expanded out into the suburbs and other cities by 40% at the beginning of next year. Attorney Cohen, as you are aware we have kept up our end of the deal in strengthening our influence and protection over Wood Oak Police Force in all three districts. Chief Clark has cooperated and now it's up to you to prosecute and dismiss anyone who stands in our way more than ever before."

Bill Cohen: "And what about the rest of our arrangement?"

Marcus: "As you can appreciate, law enforcement is a difficult area and our funds are stretched. But you will be compensated once….."

Bill Cohen: "This has gone on for too long! The force have become increasingly difficult to cooperate with and Clark is a weak link. He should be…"

Shiva interrupts finally speaking out. He has heard enough bullshit, "Thank you Marcus, I'll take it from here. Mr Cohen, it is my understanding that Mr X has been paying you for your cooperation over the last six years. Your team on the other hand still tend to get in the way from time to time and I am sure that at least one of them would jump at the opportunity to replace you if they knew where their justice fund was going". Cohen can't help but freeze, stunned by Shiva's input in the discussion.

Shiva continues, "Really I think it is you who should lay off the questions and cooperate in future without any problems. I dread to think what your mistress, wife and daughter would do if your dealings were to leak out in public or better yet if we paid them a visit ourselves." Bill struggles to speak, "please accept my apologies".

Shiva responds: "In the meantime you will ensure that any officers on the force are prosecuted if they become a serious liability". Bill nods before a handful of the committee, including the owner of the bank are escorted out of the room.

Shiva touches up his tie and continues to brief the others left around the table "Now for more important matters. Our scientists have been working over the last couple of months breaking boundaries in what we are capable of. Yes our organisations are successful and we have seen profits grow but our real power is yet to exist. Tiger show our colleagues the demonstration."

A scientist in a white apron, gloves and a mask walks into the room with a trolley filled with apparatus including a large thick round flask and several conductors connecting to a black machine. Tiger removes his shirt and is wired up to the machine from his hands and arms as well as around his head.

Shiva: "Gentlemen, if you could observe staying silent". The blinds in the room are closed and the doors are locked. The scientist switches the power on for the machine which takes a few seconds to warm up. Tiger illuminates two small flames from each of his hands. Most of the room have seen his powers before but what they are about to see is something on another level. The conductors spark, transferring Tiger's flamed energy into and electrical current leading into the sealed flask. This lasts around thirty seconds before the scientist stops the machine. Tiger is breathless and weak but ok.

The others in the room are in awe as Shiva explains "According to the laws of Physics and the conservation of energy it is stated that an isolated system in a given frame of reference remains constant. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, rather it transforms from one form to the other."

At this moment in time, the glass flask on the trolley looks empty. After about a minute, sparks inside it begin and start intensifying becoming stronger and brighter.

Shiva: "Gentlemen please, you will find some glasses under the desk to put on. We only took a small amount of Tiger's chi so that we don't drain out everything he has. With this amount, you could probably explode a small tunnel or part of a mine shaft. Our plan is to store this energy gradually then to use this power to eventually create nuclear weapons, energy bombs and even cyborgs with it. It will make us unstoppable not just in the city, but globally over the next decade. We will never again require a police force or military personnel to protect Wood Oak's interests. All will be controlled from our own base".

The large glass flask is moving from the sparks inside it that are constantly firing now. Suddenly the glass implodes causing a rift of energy around it and all there is left are shards of glass and a large black mark on the trolley where the flask sat a minute ago. The rest of the room are speechless, in awe and fear of what they have just witnessed.

Mayor Ellison Rhys responds: "My God! Something like this could destroy cities and communities. Yes I can support all of your criminal organisations but I can't comprehend…."

Shiva closes his eyes, muttering under his breath "Final Crash" as he summons a bolt of lightning from his hand, projecting it directly to the mayor standing opposite him and ending his life in a split second. The whole room are silenced. "So, is there anyone else present who disagrees with our project?"

"Sasha please can you quickly finish breakfast, uncle Sammy is taking you to school this morning". It has been a busy last day since Adam has been gone trying to make sure that Sasha isn't in shock, working hard at the salon, making sure there is enough food in the fridge and making a start on the wrecked office upstairs. This morning has been particularly tough, morning sickness kicking in badly.

* * *

Keri: "Hey Sammy, thanks again for walking Sasha to school"

Sammy: "No problem, I heard you being sick this morning in the bathroom… I did tell you that anchovies on pizza is a bad idea! Trust me when it comes to food I know how it should be"

Keri laughs, "Yes your right, I aint ever looking at an anchovy again!"

Sammy: "Well I hope you feel better soon. Have you heard anything yet from Adam?"

Keri: "No, I suspect he is still settling in and his councillor will probably visit him today. That reminds me, I need to drive there later with a change of clothes and some stuff so I won't be here straight from work. Here's some cash for a take out later for you and Sash unless you want to brave the oven!"

Sammy: "No way, I think a take out tonight should be fine".

Keri: "By the way, I spoke to Aunty Gloria about your application. She said that all the information as well as a possible interview date should come through the post within five days".

Sammy: "Thanks Keri. I know my grades will get better if I get a new start next year."

Keri: "I know, the schools in Wood Oak aren't the best. I was even thinking, even when Sasha is older we should move out there so that she can start school in a better place. Adam could maybe get a transfer. Let's see".

Sammy and Sasha say goodbye and leave for her school.

The neighbourhood around seems unusually quiet at this time of morning but peaceful. Keri walks down the driveway to the mailbox, another letter from Oakland's high regarding Eddie Hunter's absence. It's OK though, what's the worst they can do? The head teacher knows Adam's position in the City and therefore is in no position herself to impose an official sanction. She walks back around the drive to the doorstep where the door is still open. To her horror, she notices that someone has left something on the porch. She crouches down to find a skateboard broken into two pieces with a card left on top of one piece. There is no message but a round black symbol with seven stars. She pushes open the front door, cautiously walking into the hallway. Under the shoe rack, she pulls out a knife and starts scanning the ground floor in case anyone has made their way into the house. Again the kitchen is quiet, nobody seems to be present. She makes her way upstairs, pushing each door open slowly and scanning the room quietly. It all seems clear. Suddenly the house phone rings, startling her. Fortunately all seems to be ok and the house is empty.

Keri picks up the phone slowly: "Hello?"

"Kerianne, I've been trying to get hold of you why don't you answer your cell?" It's her mother Paulette who still treats her like a child but she cares and is genuinely concerned.

"Mom I'm sorry I've had a lot on, I have to get ready for work".

Paulette: "Are you ok? You sound upset. I'm stopping by after work tomorrow, I'd really like to see you and my granddaughter if it's ok with you?"

Keri: "Sure, I'm fine and all is good. You can stay round tomorrow night if you like. Adam is out of town at the moment so I could use the company".

Paulette: "Good! See you then".

Keri looks out of the window, the knife still gripped in her hand paranoid that she is being watched. It's even more alarming that the CCTV on the door has turned around. Something is definitely not right here. She tries to call Axel's office dialling the extension at work.

 _#phone rings#_

"Captain Stone's office, how can I help?" Except the voice is not him, it's a woman on the end of the line.

Keri: "Hi, can I speak with Agent Stone please? I've tried his cell but couldn't get through who is this?"

Jess: "This is Lieutenant Hart, he's covering for the DC at the moment and is out of the office attending a meeting. Can I leave a message?"

Keri: "No, that's fine I'll try again later"

 _#Hangs up#_

* * *

Jess remains in the office covering some of the morning's Captain Duties whilst Axel is out attending one of O'Neil's meetings. Three of the lieutenants on the team, including Jess are doing this in shifts for both Adam and Axel as requested by the DC.

 _#Door knocks#_

Jess: "Come in!"

It's the new brunette dressed in uniform, why is she here?

Blaze: "Hi, I've come to collect my itinerary for the day as I'm due out on the field this morning".

Jess peers over suspicious with her emerald green eyes scanning the newbie: "I don't believe we've been introduced yet, I'm Lieutenant Jessica Hart. I'm covering some of the Captain duties today. I could have sworn I emailed it over to you? Blaze is it?"

Blaze, a little off guard but trying to be friendly: "Lieutenant Fielding should be fine but since we are the same rank, it doesn't bother me if you call me by my first name".

Jess: "So why are you here then?"

Blaze: "Captain Stone requested that I report to the office and collect my itinerary before I start duty each morning so that I remain punctual".

Jess: "Oh yes, I remember. I met all of the Reds before the interviews except for you because you were late". This feels very awkward for Blaze, she was actually considering saying thanks for the hot chocolate five minutes ago, not expecting a meeting with the red witch.

Blaze: "So do you know when Agent Stone will be back? I have a case I need to run through with him about a missing minor"

Jess: "He won't be back for a while unfortunately, I can call his cell if it's urgent? It's just, as you can appreciate he is under a lot of pressure at the moment doing all the DC work out of office today that needs completion."

Blaze: "No problem, I will try to catch him when he's finished".

Jess: "Yeah erm that might be difficult too. We have plans after work, perhaps you can try coming back tomorrow? Or, as I said I can call his cell if it's urgent". Only a small number of colleagues have his personal cell phone otherwise all calls need to go through office.

Blaze: "Oh yeah, I forgot it's almost the weekend. A couple of the officers invited me out to Hatchet's bar after work. I'm off duty so I can catch him there then".

Jess laughs: "No, that's not what I meant! If you must know, the two of us are going out for dinner. Like I said if you have anything you need to run by him leave it with me and I will tell him later. Is there anything else?"

Blaze, even more off guard: "Er no, thanks".

Jess smiling and trying to be a bit friendlier: "No worries. I know you're new but if you need anything today, I'm here to help also."

Blaze: "Thank you"

Jess: "now if you'd excuse me I need to grab a coffee from downstairs to do the trick. I'm not really a morning person as you can see but after a decent cup I feel awake again…. Seems to work better for me than hot chocolate".

Blaze feeling puzzled walks away thinking to herself 'how the fuck does this bitch know? He must tell his girlfriend everything that goes on in the office, which by the way is technically against the rules dating a member of your team….what an idiot! The sooner I'm out of this shit hole the better!'


	9. Chapter 8- Family comes first

**Chapter 8**

City Hall is a beautiful glass building in Wood Oak City shaped like a dome and looking out onto the river beyond the financial district. At any one time there are over 500 staff working in this large complex representing each district in the city. Any major political decisions are addressed and made in this building. It's a big day today for Axel where so far this morning he has met many of the senior leaders of the city including City Chief Inspector Clark, Green District's DC Bailey and a handful of attorneys and councillors, all holding a major influence over Wood Oak. Everyone knows why DC O'Neil has sent a representative and they are understandably concerned by last week's catastrophe at Wood Oak City's Central Police Department.

Its lunchtime and DC Bailey and Chief Clark are sat with Axel outside of the conference room.

DC Bailey: "Well that went well this morning, what did you make of it Captain?"

Axel: "I'm honoured that DC O'Neil has sent me to address and make a start on resolving all of the issues and changes needed at our department. It's a great experience and I know that with like minds we can work together".

Clark: "I'm usually a sceptic but I got to be honest with you son. O'Neil has fulfilled this role for the best part of 15 years now but change is coming and he will be retiring shortly. From what I gather so far, he has made a good choice if you choose to replace him as you are clearly a hard working individual with a lot of potential that can make a difference. You will find an extended invite to the commissioner's dinner next week for you and your partner Captain Hunter."  
Axel: "Thank you, I know Adam would be honoured also to attend".

Clark smiles and pats him around the shoulder. "You and your team are exactly what we need right now and have the drive to bring justice to our city. Between the three of us here, I would suggest keeping your eyes peeled for anyone in your office that believes otherwise especially those who are close with the attorneys. Red District DC Ramos was murdered during the attacks there because he trusted the wrong people".

Axel's expression turns into concern. He trusts no one anymore anyway apart from his partner Adam and he knows he is about to enter the lion's den in that room. Staying one step ahead with your eyes open, predicting their moves is always the way in defeating those who are superior to you.

DC Bailey: "Ten minutes until we resume, we'd better get back inside there".

Axel: "Would you excuse me, I just need to return a call I will be back to join you in a few minutes".

Axel steps outside into one of the halls to make a phone call.

"Hey it's me, what's the update on this morning?"

A male's voice is on the other line, deep with a slightly Asian accent: "The syndicate have stored $15 million dollar's at the central bank in aid of Mr X's campaign starting next month"

Axel: "Shit! This son of a bitch isn't fucking around, was he there?"

Voice: "No, my agent said he wasn't present, just his associates. We will talk more later on. I need you to stop by at 8pm tonight as there is something even more urgent that we need to discuss in person. In the meantime, that meeting you are going into, you will see ten councillors from the city around the table announcing the start of their campaigns next month. One of them is the syndicate boss Mr X using another name. Observe with caution, you are new in that room so he will be on his guard trying to read you".

 _#Hangs up#_

Having worked for criminals when he was a fighter and crooked sergeants in the military, Axel has a good idea of what to look out for in terms of talk and body language in a corrupt individual but politicians… this is a completely different ball game. They all chat shit anyway. He takes a deep breath before walking back into the conference room.

Things are running later than expected surprisingly. The chair of the committee starts "Apologies members, we have had a slight delay. Unfortunately our Mayor Ellison Rhys will be absent again this afternoon due to an emergency. We will proceed without him".

The next two hours are a drag with talk of info structure, restoration projects and the policing of the upcoming campaigns and events around the city next month which Chief Clark brief's the committee on. The ten councillors are dispersed around the table, with the odd few debating and questioning some of the decisions. Axel takes the opportunity to closely monitor each of their body languages in turn but he can never be too sure who it is. The ten councillors consist of seven men and three women, all over the age of 45. Although the syndicate boss is known as 'Mr X' on the streets, how can we still be so sure that it isn't just a cover up for one of the women? Axel is asking himself many logical questions, not ruling out any possibilities but this is proving to be difficult.

Very few can understand how Axel's mind works, why he is so composed and what makes him tick. He holds many burdens, secrets and demons locked away and is as complicated to read as an individual gets. The strong, reliable, ex-military, MMA champion is all on the surface that others are allowed to see.

* * *

August 2003, Tikrit, Iraq.

The war has been declared as effectively over with no more major conflicts and regiments are being moved around every so often to maintain this and deal with smaller- scale incidents and individual militants still in hiding. Axel is barely an adult but he has experienced trauma that most will never see in their lifetime. He is one of the most skilled and bravest fighters on his team.

One night he hears a scream inside an abandoned building. It's dark, in the early hours of the morning. He opens the front door, walking inside with caution on the lookout for any potential bombs or traps. His assault rifle is fully loaded and ready in case there are any surprises. He approaches a lit room where he can hear heavy breathing. As he enters, to his shock he witnesses his sergeant raping a young woman on the floor. Axel points his rifle at the sergeant, "get off of her!" he orders.

The sergeant in his forties stops, zips up his trousers and starts walking over.

"What are you going to do boy? Shoot me?" He starts to pull out a pistol, but before he can fire Axel shoots him in the forehead. He pauses, shocked from this moment of madness while the woman lays crying on the floor. The penalty for shooting a major is death. The gun shot has quickly drawn in at least eight officers from his regiment who are in shock but are standing silent behind Axel pointing their rifles at his head.

One of his friends, horrified speaks out. "Ax, what the fuck?" Another also pointing a rifle says "Were taking you back to base where you will be sentenced and killed for this". As the officers draw in closer, Axel rapidly emits an inferno from his hands and arms, instantly setting the soldiers on fire screaming to their deaths. Some who are struggling to breathe are firing random shots or shooting themselves and the fire is quickly spreading. Axel reacts immediately, helping the crying woman up off the floor and handing her his jacket. "Come on, we need to get out of here!" She speaks very little English and is shaking her head in fear. He looks her in the eye "Come with me, I will make sure we get you back to your village where you will be safe". As they start to walk out, she quickly picks up the pistol next to the dead Sargent's body.

Axel barely has enough time to shout "NO, NO! Don't…" she holds the gun to her head before firing one bullet. The fire continues to spread as the woman lays there in a pool of blood. The stain on her honour is too much for her to deal with. Axel will never forget that look in her eyes before she pulled the trigger. Still to this day he has nightmares about this and he has never spoken to anyone, not even Adam about that night.

In the end Axel got away, all of the evidence burnt. Following this, three days later he quit the military. One of his superiors who owed him his life dismissed Axel on medical grounds for burns to his arms and back as well as post-traumatic stress from the loss of those closest to him in the regiment. One of the things he always regrets is burning his friends alive. He only uses his chi if he chooses to now. He mastered it from a young age, bearing the pain and intensity. He has the tools and remedies to heal any deep burns quickly and has covered the most prominent areas of his arms and back in tattoos. This is also how he came to kill his old boss Stefan Visser and his men with all of the evidence burnt to a crisp. Shiva is the only human who has been known in the Syndicate and to the Yamato Clan to have power of this intensity, making them two of the deadliest fighters living today.

* * *

The only thing left to rely on is instinct. Mastering ones chi is not just about the power you are able to radiate from your body, it's about using your gut feeling to sense another individual's energy. One of the councillors, Javier Williams speaks out for the first time in the meeting. He catches Axel's attention straight away, looking him in the eye from a distance. Axel can sense the blood on this man's hands as well as his dark energy but if this man is Mr X, he is certainly good at covering his body language and he has the popularity of many of the senior officials present in the room.

He is a broad man in his late 40s dressed in a dark grey suit, white shirt and black tie. His brown shoes are immaculately polished and he is wearing what appears to be a million dollar Rolex watch. His receding hair is a mix of black and grey, slicked back unveiling his rough tanned skin with a clean shaven face, dark eyebrows and dark brown eyes.

Councillor Williams speaks with confidence and authority: "Next month, I too will be putting myself forward for senate and as council leader. I am grateful to all the council advisors, attorneys, police personnel and press who will be supporting or assisting with the campaign over the coming weeks. For those who don't know me as well, my aims are to make Wood Oak a vibrant powerhouse where all have the opportunity to learn and make careers for themselves by boosting technology, medical science and industry. I believe that Wood Oak has not yet unlocked its potential and we are capable, together of making it the most prosperous city on Earth." He receives an applause from the other associates in the room but feels slightly uneasy when he notices Axel reading him from across the room.

5pm and finally the meeting is over and the room is emptying.

Chief Inspector Clark shakes Axel's hand and thanks him for covering for DC O'Neil. Today has been a real eye opener with a room full of many innocent professionals and many corrupt leaders of the city. In time, they will be dealt with and bought to justice but it will be far from easy, more complicated than any assassination job. But they will catch their karma one way or another.

* * *

Blaze is stationed with two other members of her team patrolling the harbour and neighbouring areas. It's late in the afternoon and the last hour has been a long one. In the distance she suddenly spots a fisherman running towards her shouting "Help, please!"

Blaze calms him down, "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

He responds, "Please come with me, we think we have found someone in the water by the canal".

Blaze and the other officers rush to the scene. To their horror, a rotting body of a young boy is lifted from the water. The smell of the body is strong as it must have been there for at least a week.

Blaze reaches for her radio "This is Central Agent Fielding 620 over…. We are stationed by Maylands Canal where a body has been discovered in the water. It appears to be a young black male, between the ages of 14-16, one gunshot wound to the face, black jeans…." It quickly dawns on her as she puts her hands around her mouth. "Oh my God. This could well be the case I was given for the missing boy, Kadeem Saunders. Nadine, please contact his mother as soon as you can, we will need the body to be identified and the forensics here fast".

* * *

Axel decides to go straight home after the exhausting day at City Hall. He finds Adam with his stuff dispersed around the front room of his top floor penthouse apartment taking full advantage of his games console but looking well.

Axel: "Hey Adam, how was the counselling session today?"

Adam pauses his game and puts down the control pad "You know what, it was good! I realise there is still a way to go after the relapse but I'm starting to get my life back together. Everything is beginning to make sense and I think I will be ready to come back to work in a couple of days".

Axel: "Have you spoken to Keri yet?"

Adam: "No but she should be here any minute to drop off some clothes. If she's not here soon I'm raiding your closet".

 _#Buzzer rings#_

Axel: "Thank you Keri that was perfect timing. Now I don't have to worry about my clothes going missing" he jokes as he opens the apartment door. "I'm going to leave and give you both some space to talk. I need to head out anyway to collect a couple of things from the office".

Keri: "Wait, I need to talk to you both first before you leave Ax"

Adam: "What's wrong?"

Keri: "I think Sammy is in trouble" She hands over a piece of the broken skateboard along with the paper left on the porch this morning.

Adam: "Shit, that's a syndicate message! They know where we live, I'm guessing the CCTV at the house was switched off too".

Axel: "Where's Sammy now?"

Keri: "He's picking up Sasha from Friday swimming club then going home".

Adam: "We need to go, now! Keri please stay here we won't be long".

* * *

It's a fifteen minute walk home for Sammy and Sasha, "Hey Sasha, you must be hungry after all that swimming today". Sasha in her own cheeky way responds, "hell yeah!"

Sammy: "Your mom said I can either cook you something, or we can get some tacos?"

Sasha replies: "I want tacos!"

Sammy: "Thought so!"

As they walk the last street a couple of minutes from the house, Sammy is cautious. It's still light outside, another orange sunset but the streets are quiet and he notices a couple of the thugs from his school hanging around on the corner.

"Yo Sammy, where you at?" One of them shouts out. He ignores them and continues to walk holding Sasha's hand. Only around 200m left until they are home.

"Sammy I'm talking to you! Where the fuck you been? We need you to shift this stock left!" The three thugs who have bicycles draw closer to the pair.

Sammy: "Yo T, I'm alright. Let me take my niece home and I will come and talk to you"

Tyrone: "Fuck you Sammy"

Sammy kneels down: "Listen Sash, I'm going over there to talk to these guys for ten minutes. Can you do me a favour? Run back to the taco store a couple of doors away as quick as you can, the man in there forgot to give us change. Stay there until I come back. If I'm not back in ten ask the server to call your dad." She quickly runs in the other direction while Sammy walks over to the three boys.

Tyrone: "Where the fuck is my boy Kadeem?"

Sammy: "They shot him T, he's dead! You need to stop dealing with Donovan he's fucked up! I can help you get out of the City…"

Concealed under his jacket, Tyrone charges at Sammy with a knife but he is fast enough to dodge the blade. The other two boys also try to attack him with their knives. It is a struggle with three against one but Sammy is a great fighter and is more than capable of defending himself against street thugs. He manages to stop the three boys who are now injured, laying on the floor. As Sammy looks up, further down the road he can see Donovan who has grabbed Sasha.

Sammy cries out: "Let her go, it's me you want to kill! I'll do anything just don't hurt her!"

Donovan: "Get out your cell phone and call your brother down here now! Don't say anything else, you and the girl are coming with me."

A voice from behind shouts out "I'm already here motherfucker". Donovan has a second of shock as he turns around, "Hunter, if you want her to live get your ass in that car over there with your brother."

Adam: "Tell your connect to go fuck himself! And before you try anything to hurt my daughter you will die first". Donovan glances behind him to find Axel with his hood up and ski mask on, hiding his face with gloves on and holding a handgun to Donovan's head.

Donovan drops his knife and slowly releases Sasha who runs over to her father. He laughs to himself "Got me there! This is not how cops are supposed to operate… Your man here wouldn't seriously shoot me in cold blood in the middle of the street?"

The sight of the gun sends the three young wounded boys running away as fast as possible.

Adam: "Sammy please take Sasha back to the house and make sure she's ok". After they leave, Adam and Axel force Donovan with the gun to walk into an empty alley.

Adam angrily kicks and punches him against the wall over and over again "Ya'l think you can step to me and threaten my family?" He continues to beat the crap out of Donovan who is struggling to respond "when my boss or your feds find my body, you'll be fucked either way. This is war!"

Adam stops the beating for the moment and crouches down as Donovan is bleeding and struggling to stand. Adam: "No, it doesn't work like that. See your about to die slowly and there will be no trace of you left by the time we're finished. The feds won't be able to identify you, even with those ugly teeth that I knocked out!" Axel hands over the gun to Adam before removing his hood and ski mask. Donovan instantly recognises his face as he has seen him fight in the past. Without saying a word, Axel tightly knots a cloth around Donovan's mouth, preventing him making any noise. He then places his hand in front of Donovan's chest and starts emitting a small flame which turns into an intense fire burning him slowly. The pain is unbearable for Donovan.

Adam: "No one fucks with my family, ever".


	10. Chapter 9- Dinner date

**Chapter 9**

It's a short visit back to Adam's house where the group frantically pack clothes and any necessary items needed until they find another place to live where the syndicate have no information or address. Working at this level in the force sends you many enemies along the way and for Adam it is an even greater risk with his family involved. The two officers also use the opportunity to change and burn their clothes as they may contain criminating evidence.

It's around a half an hours drive back to Axel's apartment which is situated close to Wood Oak Central if you are not driving at full speed like earlier.

Adam: "Are you sure you're ok with this Brady bunch taking over your apartment for the next day or so?"

Axel: "It's safe there, security cameras, and ammo if you need it. Don't worry we'll figure it out- Keri and Sasha can take my room, Sammy can take the couch. While I'm out make yourself useful and get yourself a sleeping bag".

Adam: "What about you? You staying with Jess? Or someone else?"

Axel: "No, I'll probably be out most of the night working. I got that meeting later I told you about outside the office. I think I might know who X is".

Adam: "Jesus! And you're telling me this now?"

Axel: "You got a lot on your plate, sort your business out first and we will talk tomorrow". Axel glances through the drivers mirror back at Sammy who is sat with Sasha asleep on his lap, "Kid you ok?"

Sammy: "Yeah, that was close. I'm sorry this is all my fault"

Adam: "I'll talk to you later boy, don't even get me started right now!"

Axel defending Sammy: "I know he lied to you but he mixed with the wrong crowd and tried to fix it. It's done now and you're all ok that's the main thing. All of us have got involved with the wrong people at some point in our life".

Sammy feeling ashamed replies: "I'm sorry Adam"

Axel: "Sammy, Keri found your skateboard on the porch earlier today. Is there anything else we need to know?"

They stop the car at a diner on the way back. Fortunately for them there is a kid's playground at the venue that they can see out the back and Sasha is keen on going to it. Not such a bad idea to take her mind off the evening.

Adam: "its fine sweetie, I can see you from here. We're just ordering the food to take out, it will only take ten minutes". He gives her a massive cuddle, grateful at the fact that she is unharmed. The thought of losing her is the worst thing ever and as shown tonight, he will go to any lengths to protect his family.

Sasha responds: "Uncle Sammy promised I could have tacos!" Adam smiles and looks over to his brother thinking 'thank God I didn't lose you either'.

While they wait for the food, Sammy comes clean explaining everything starting with last Thursday and the event's that lead to Kadeem's death.

Axel: "One of the other departments must be dealing with the missing report. We need to find the body first and confirm cause of death. Sammy I need you to come to the station with me tomorrow to explain all of this again so that we can get a statement."

Sammy: "Ok I will"

Axel: "Given that you have been to a syndicate residence, the police will want to work closely with you."

Adam: "No wonder they wanted to find us both! They probably tried your school also since you were out of sight. You're lucky they haven't succeeded in killing you as you know all of this information."

Axel: "I'll call the sketch artist and graphics officer down tomorrow when you give your statement so that we can identify this guy. In the meantime, stay put in the apartment. They will start to come looking for you when they can't reach Donovan".

Adam who is concerned looks over to his brother: "I erm want to apologise to you. I'm sorry I haven't been there the past few days. I know you've been helping Keri out also, don't worry about this we got your back. And as for my issues, I'm working on it kid and I will fix it I'm just glad you're ok". It's an emotional and rare hug for these two brothers who are feeling grateful to be alive. 

* * *

It's a massive relief for Keri to be reunited with Sasha and Sammy back at the flat. She is also grateful to Adam, giving him a kiss on the lips "I missed you. Thank you for bringing them back safe".

It's a happy moment for the four of them who understand that although they will have to move elsewhere and lie low until this is fixed, they still have each other and can protect themselves from the syndicate. It's also the perfect opportunity over dinner to announce Keri's happy news.

Keri: "Hey Ax, want the chicken taco or the meat one?"

Axel: "Thanks Keri but I have to go and sort something out. You know where all the plates and all that are. In the meantime enjoy your dinner, you have a lot to talk about and celebrate… but I will steal a chicken one!" he smiles taking a taco from the bag. As he gets ready to leave, for a second he feels a little envious. Axel is still happy for his friend but he feels an emptiness inside. Although having his own family with kids has never been an option, he can see that he is missing out big time. Is all this success he has worked hard for really worth that sacrifice?

* * *

He takes the elevator down to the ground floor past the concierge and mailboxes. As he opens the door out to the street, to his surprise Jess appears approaching him.

Jess: "Hi, I know you got company upstairs. I saw you with Adam's family entering the building with suitcases but I couldn't help it, I had to see you."

Axel feeling pissed off that he didn't notice he was being watched, "You been waiting here all this time?"

Jess smiles "Yes! I thought, maybe now that you've finished work we could go out and get some dinner together. You can stay at mine tonight if you want"

Axel: "Adam is having some problems as someone broke into his house so they are crashing at my place for the night. Thanks for the offer but I will be ok, honestly."

Jess puts her arms around him: "I don't care about Adam, I've missed you! You haven't returned any of my calls or messages. What's wrong?"

Axel backs away: "I'm sorry Jess I don't want to do this". He can smell alcohol on her breath. She is all dressed up and ready to go, heals, hair and makeup in a short blue dress.

Jess laughs: "Come on, I thought you liked this dress… I don't need to keep it on for much longer"

Axel: "No, stop doing this! When we hit it off it was casual, a mistake even. I can't keep doing this, I got a lot of shit to focus on."

Jess: "You know what your problem is? You need to lighten up! I know that we can still have more fun together"

Axel: "listen to yourself! I told you I'm not doing this anymore Jess. I'm sorry if I led you on but you and I are a mistake… not to mention you're on my team!"

Her expression changes to anger but she is probably getting the message now.

Axel: "Let me call you a cab. Take the day off tomorrow and sort yourself out".

Jess: "Fuck you Axel! I can call one myself. And yeah, your right I had my fun with you and I've never stopped having fun elsewhere!"

Axel: "whatever you want, I'm done!" Adam sure is a good judge of women, he thinks to himself.

An awkward start to the night but this was going to happen at some point. Lesson learnt, Axel thinks to himself. They used each other but he regrets the fact that he wasn't more direct with Jess in the first place. Life must go on and there are bigger problems to solve right now.

* * *

8pm on the dot as Blaze walks out of the subway, scanning everywhere with caution that she is not being followed. A rare sight but she is dressed very smart, business like for the evening with black heals, pin striped black dress, smart blazer jacket, hair out and even a bit of makeup.

 _#phone rings#_

Blaze: "I'm almost there but you need to make this quick as I have an important meeting at 9pm tonight".

 _#hangs up#_

She continues to observe the dark street and alleys around, ignoring the wolf whistles in the distance. This part of the city is run down, controlled by the Yakuza and all of their criminals nearby. It's very easy to find a coke dealer within 10 metres of this place. She makes her way through the night market which is a little busier than the previous street, full of fresh fish, fruit and Japanese restaurants and café's surrounding it. The sound of chimes from above block out the frantic voices around the stalls and the smell of incense mixed with raw fish dominates the air around. Towards the end of the market there is a dark abandoned bridge, underneath it leading to another alley and a row of quiet shops and restaurants. She knocks slowly five times on one of the windows.

A short, stocky man answers the door.

Blaze: "Is Uncle Gilbert around?" He nods and takes her to the back of the empty restaurant then down a couple of flights of stairs. They go to a bare, lit room with lots of scientific apparatus and computers plus a small table on the other side of it with four chairs. A very tall 6ft 7 man appears, coming out of the kitchen behind the room. He is in his 50s, bald with a long white moustache and beard, Japanese in ethnicity and slim but muscular for his age. "Good to see you Miss Fielding!"

Blaze smiles: "Likewise Professor Gilbert!"

Dr. Zan Gilbert has known Blaze for a while. She found him through research back in England when she stopped ignoring her own chi. He has advised her ever since but has always been in hiding and is the only person alive today who knows her secret and capabilities. Thirty years ago, a young scientist called Armen Glover suspected that his colleague Zan Gilbert could use his own chi. Zan trusted Glover with his secret but soon after, he was betrayed and imprisoned for five years as a living experiment. These were the darkest days of his life. Every day was torture with the scientists using his body and mind to create a living weapon but one night he managed to escape. Glover's downfall was that he gave Zan too much power and he ended up turning on him and the other scientists to break free. As a result he is now half human, half cyborg. He has mastered his own chi which changed and intensified after all of the experiments into a deadly electrical force.

Zan: "I hope you have been practising the exercises and meditation I have suggested to make your power stronger."

Blaze: "Yeah er, that's the thing! Every time I do them I get weak, my hands bleed. Its torture!"

Zan: "It's the only way, with more practise and time your body will grow use to it. Your downfall is your tension and impatience."

Blaze: "Professor I have been practising, you know that. It's just with these marks on my hands people are starting to get suspicious".

Zan: "Don't worry, I will give you a remedy to help those heal faster but you will have to bear the pain"

Blaze: "Like the other day, my asshole boss noticed them. I think he was stupid enough to believe my excuse but it doesn't matter! I'm leaving that corrupted place anyway this is why I'm in a rush as I have my interview tonight."

Zan: "Ah I see! Still though, slow down, learn patience and it will help your chi. Wherever you go there will always be corruption and negative energy. You need to learn to withstand and grow above it."

Blaze smiles: "Thanks for the heart to heart professor, I guess you are right but I am unhappy there"

Zan: "Why?"

Blaze: "I don't know, it's all a bit too much. Not the cases it's the people there- most of them don't want to work with me, one of my bosses runs it like the military so I'm always in trouble plus someone is about to get my ass suspended for breaking their nose!"

Zan: "I'm guessing that temper of yours came out?"

Blaze laughs: "Something like that! So, professor what's this big news then?" She hears footsteps coming from the kitchen at the back. "Oh, I didn't know you had company?" The person in there has decided to come out and walk into the room. In a split second, her heart skips a beat when she turns around to see who it is and her face becomes red with shock as Axel walks into the room. It's awkward, incredibly awkward! He has just heard that entire conversation and knows her secret. Never has she wanted to sink into the ground and disappear as much as now.

Blaze: "What the fuck? Professor why didn't you say…."

Zan, more enthusiastically replies "This is my other student, Axel Stone. I believe he works at your department? You can learn a lot from him and his chi which he has now mastered. He will also be joining us for the meeting tonight".

Blaze is speechless, eyes wide open, jaw dropped with her face still flustered, wanting to wipe that smirk off her superior's face. She is in disbelief, this can't be happening.

Axel: "Let me guess, came to get the electrics on your kettle fixed?"

Blaze breathing heavily now: "You knew?"

Axel: "Of course I knew, I'm not as dumb as you think!"

'He had to throw that one in there to make it even more awkward than this already is' she thinks to herself. For the first time ever, Blaze has been silenced and has no comeback, feeling very uncomfortable in his company.

Axel: "Look, I get it your angry. But I wasn't going to risk mine getting out either. Zan has briefed me already on why we are here, it's going to take a while to explain but you need to hear this".

The trio walk over to the table, Blaze still annoyed and feeling embarrassed as they sit.

Zan: "My colleague has been spending a considerable amount of time working within the syndicate over the last year or so. He has risked his life to feedback information to us and our sources so that we can plan ahead. It's not good news I'm afraid. Currently two of the highest members in the syndicate, Tiger and Shiva who have similar powers to you have been storing their energy gradually. Their aim is to use it to create nuclear weapons and cyborgs and in doing so, taking control of the city. The results could be catastrophic."

Blaze smiles: "Tiger? Shiva? What are they some circus duo?"

Axel, ignoring her comment replies: "We also believe that 'Mr X', the leader of the syndicate is this man Javier Williams" he passes over a photograph. The smile on Blaze's face drops and she pauses in shock.

Axel: "I saw him today at City Hall. He is a powerful man as one of the councillors there who is about to campaign for senator and council leader next month".

Blaze responds, still in shock: "Oh my God. If he gets anymore political power he will use these weapons to strengthen his cause. We have to assassinate him!"

Zan: "It's not that easy. He is well protected by his men and women in the syndicate and has friends within the police department and attorneys".

Blaze angrily turns to Axel: "And you're continuing to allow this in _your_ department? Who is working for them?"

Axel: "You're forgetting that the mole came from your district where Ramos was murdered first. Honestly, I don't know but whoever is with them, they are in a powerful position close to the attorneys. My logic tells me that it could be O'Neil and anyone who works close to him. We need to be sure first."

Blaze feeling concerned: "And Adam?... is he..?"

Axel: "No, that I know for sure and so should you."

Zan: "Any full scale assassination attempt on Williams by an officer will result in them being put away and killed. It wouldn't mean the end of the syndicate as there are enough criminals who would easily take over. Plus he has the backing of the Yamato Cult with Shiva working for him".

Axel hands over the piece of paper found earlier with the circular symbol and seven stars scattered inside it.

Blaze: "How the hell are we supposed to beat them then?"

Axel: "We start from the bottom and work our way up. While X is focussed on this campaign, we buy time by jeopardising each of his sources of income. Without money, the syndicate would struggle. The bank, the clubs, casinos, brothels, everything."

Blaze: "But you said that they have sources in the police force, how can we raid their asses?"

Axel: "This isn't going to involve the police force. Zan, Adam and I have our own underground team of fighters, hackers, ex criminals who want the syndicate dead just as much as us".

Blaze: "You're telling me a group of vigilantes can take down a whole criminal organisation led by a potential senator and then cover it up?"

Axel: "It's our best shot! In the meantime we continue as normal working for the force as they have an agreement not to kill any officers unless we pose a threat to their cause. I'd like you to consider joining us- you have the fighting capability plus your chi is a huge advantage".

Zan interrupts: "But both of you need to keep this hidden! If you choose to use your energy, be sure to finish the job and cover yourselves. If the syndicate discover that you have this power, they will either turn you into a living weapon or they will drain everything you have to create their nuclear weapons".

Blaze takes a deep breath: "Who else knows about you two?"

Axel: "Adam, and one more guy who works with us called Max"

Blaze: "I don't know, I need to think this through. Besides it's a struggle and its taking me forever to get stronger."

Zan: "But you're a great fighter and we can fix that! After dinner though, you will need strength first".

Blaze interrupts: "Dinner!? I've heard what I've needed to and now I have to go." She turns to Axel "I'm surprised you're staying then, weren't you suppose to go out for dinner after work with your girlfriend?"

Axel replies grinning: "Girlfriend? I take it you've caught up with Jess then. Is that why you have been so grumpy with me since you got here?"

Blaze: "Don't flatter yourself!"

She gets up to leave.

Zan: "Wait!...show her"

She turns around and is fascinated to see a display of fire radiating from Axel's hands up to his back. He walks forward with the flames to where, about a metre away from him stands a human mannequin (used for one of Zan's experiments). Within a second he projects his fire with full force, annihilating it in one go. What is even more remarkable is that he is not burnt himself, only parts of his t-shirt ripped and blackened from the smoke.

As he removes his shirt, Zan hands him a tub containing a white paste like an ointment that Axel carefully dips his hands into before rubbing it over them and his muscular tattooed arms and shoulders to reduce the effects of the heat radiated. Blaze tries not to stare as he walks over to his bag to pull out another shirt when he is finished. He definitely has great physique for a fighter and there is evidence that Axel has done a lot of fighting with some of those scars on his body.

Zan: "Now do you want to know how to maximise your power?"

Blaze pauses then replies "Yes, I'm ready"

Zan: "Good! It will take at least a year if you practise each day, that's if you have as much power inside you as this"

Blaze, feeling impatient: "A year? Yeah sure I do, he's got fire I give him that, but my chi is even more intense than that!"

Axel brings forward another mannequin "show us then".

She proceeds to remove her jacket, taking a deep breath to gain some focus. She closes her eyes and opens her palms creating a small vacuum similar to a vortex around each palm which then turns into two small blue energy orbs. Blaze then opens her eyes and focuses on the mannequin, pushing her palms forward. The intensity is at its limit now and the pain is starting to get to her. She is trying and trying to project her energy but it's not working!

Blaze: "Shit!" She closes her palms and angrily kicks over the mannequin over, feeling very disappointed with herself.

Axel: "It's there and it is powerful. You just need to learn to control it!"

Blaze, feeling faint and breathless responds "I need to go now"

Zan: "No you need to sit down!" He takes her over to one of the chairs and hands her a glass of water.

Axel: "Hold on." He pulls out and tears a bandage from his bag into two parts and hands them over to Dr Zan as Blaze's palms have started to bleed.

Zan: "Here, wrap these loosely around your hands. You will need the ointment later when the bleeding stops".

Blaze can be the most stubborn person at times and if there is one thing she despises its failure.

Zan: "You need to eat! The food will be ready in ten minutes".

Blaze: "Professor I have to go!"

He ignores her and leaves towards the kitchen.

Axel sits down on the opposite side of the table from her. "For Zan it's easier as he's been programmed to use the chi he was born with to be more powerful. We have to work harder to achieve that and I can show you how to do it.

Blaze: "I don't need you to show me, I can figure it out myself! Tell Professor Gilbert I'm sorry I can't stay".

Axel: "So where is your interview? I should know in case they want a reference and I need notice from you".

Blaze: "I'm thinking of transferring back to London. Chief Andrew Bingham is visiting Wood Oak Police Department at the Green District over the next few days and he can only carry out the interviews tonight".

Axel trying to hide his disappointment replies "I see! Chief Bingham and his team are great, innovative and are a global task force. There's lots to learn from them".

Blaze: "Yeah, they get around a lot! You know them?"

Axel: "Yes I worked with them in Canada before I returned here, I even saw Andy briefly today at the meeting during the morning".

Blaze feeling slightly bitter: "Oh right. It doesn't matter I don't think I'm going to make it now on time anyway. The last thing I want is to piss off anyone else with my punctuality issues".

Axel takes out his cell phone to make a call.

"Hi, its Agent Stone here… I'm sorry about the late call, is it a good time to talk?"

Blaze looks at him, curious at what he is doing as he places the phone down on the table and puts it on speaker mode.

"Hey Axel that's no problem at all, I hope the rest of the meeting today wasn't too long" The voice on the line is Andrew- another surprise to add to Blaze's eventful evening.

Axel: "You know how it is! I'm calling because I have a favour to ask and I need to apologise to you. I believe you are expecting a member of my team, Lieutenant Fielding for an interview tonight?"

Blaze is feeling very nervous of what he might say.

Andrew: "Yes we are expecting her at 9pm sharp".

Blaze whispers to herself frantically "Fuck fuck fuck!" Axel signals to her to quieten down.

Axel: "You'll have to accept my apologies, as you know I've been handling O'Neil's duties and I gave her an important case at the last minute to work on which had to be completed tonight. I completely forgot that she told me earlier about the interview!"

Andrew: "That's no problem whatsoever, if anything it does show how serious she takes her work and is willing to help you out at this busy time."

Axel: "Exactly! This is why I gave her this challenging case at the last minute. She is one of the best on our team and a great fighter. We'd be sad to see her go but this was only ever a temporary arrangement as Red District is being taken over by our department."

Andrew: "I trust your word and if you say this one is good for my team then I know it is true. Leave it with me and tell her not to worry, I will send her an offer pending an official written reference from you or your DC on Monday. In the meantime enjoy the weekend! We should catch up over a drink soon if I see you before the commissioner's event next week".

Axel: "Thanks Chief for your help, we will talk again soon!"

 _#Hangs up#_

Blaze: "You didn't have to do that you know, it's my fault I'm late! I should never have come here."

Axel: "You've practically got the job anyway what's the difference?"

Blaze shrugs not knowing whether to celebrate or throw his cell phone in the bin.

Axel: "I didn't realise you were so unhappy at Central, how long do you have until the transfer?"

Blaze: "I believe it's between four to six weeks"

Axel feeling a little more disappointed: "That soon?"

Before anymore can be said Zan returns, breaking an airy silence with a tray of food whilst his assistant sets the table.

Blaze looks down at her plate, unsure what has been placed in front of her.

Zan: "This is uni, please eat you need to gain your energy back".

Blaze: "Uni?"

Axel: "It's basically sea urchin along with rice on the side, a Japanese delicacy. It tastes better than it looks".

Reluctantly she tries a small piece but is still not impressed and spends the next ten minutes pretending to eat, playing around with the food with her chopsticks and nibbling on the rice while the other two scoff the whole lot down quickly as if they have been hungry for days. Having spent a few years fighting around Asia, Axel is use to all types of interesting food not regularly cooked in the West.

Blaze can't bear to eat anymore of this but she politely waits until Zan and Axel have finished. "Ok, I'll do it! I'm willing to fight alongside your team until I have to leave".


	11. Chapter 10- Beautiful dawn

**Chapter 10**

The night has flown away quickly and it is already 11:30pm. So far since dinner, Zan, Axel and Blaze have discussed strategies and options of where they can start in breaking down the syndicate, any information they have and when Blaze can train with them. They have also spoken about Kadeem's death and Sammy and what they have to do to keep him safe.

Zan: "Pass me some more Saki please". He often refers to this as medicinal to help him sleep but he needs quite a bit first before it kicks in. "Blaze are you sure you don't want to try? It will help you sleep" he suggests.

Blaze: "I'm fine, thank you! I'll leave the Saki to you and Axel".

Axel replies: "You're missing out! The amount we've had is nothing compared to what Max can handle, hopefully you'll meet the rest of the team tomorrow plus Adam will be there too".

Blaze: "Glad to hear it! Adam and I haven't really caught up properly since I came back. Thanks for an interesting evening guys but I'd best get going now, I wouldn't want to be late for work in the morning boss! See you guys tomorrow".

She leaves them to finish off their drink and heads upstairs then outside back towards the bridge.

The street is much quieter, darker and the night market in the distance has closed.

"Hey Blaze do you need a ride back home?" She turns around to find Axel has run out after her. "I'll be fine thanks I'm planning to get the subway".

Axel: "You won't make it the last train was five minutes ago".

Blaze: "Shit! Ok where is the nearest cab stand?"

Axel: "About half a mile in the other direction through the park then past the dockyards. It's not very safe this time of night unless you want to find some syndicate punks. You know, they pretend to be asleep on the benches in that park before they pull out a knife on their victims".

Blaze: "I have to see this then! It's their unlucky night and I need to get home".

She starts to walk off with confidence in the other direction towards the park gates past the parade of closed restaurants. Suddenly a thug with a knife jumps out from behind the gate running towards her. She reacts quickly by blocking the knife and knocking it out of the man's hand before sending him crashing down on the floor with a roundhouse kick.

Axel observes: "Nice work! You've knocked him out cold." He crouches down to examine the man's pockets for any ID or evidence whilst Blaze fixes her dress and jacket. Axel: "I'll give this one to Zan he can interrogate this guy when he regains consciousness, he must have some information. Wait here a minute." Axel picks the body up over his shoulder with ease and takes him back into the restaurant above Zan's confinement.

A couple of minutes later he is back upstairs to the street surprised to find that Blaze is standing next to two Yakuza fighters both injured and knocked out laying on the floor. "Told you it's their unlucky night" she says feeling impressed with herself unharmed without a sweat.

Zan appears in the doorway of the restaurant. One of the men opens his eyes and tries to get up off the floor. Zan quickly skids over to the fighter, placing his hands around the man's head before electrocuting him. He then repeats this on the second fighter.

Zan: "Don't worry I will disperse the bodies. A Yakuza will never betray his master by providing information so that punk downstairs is our only option".

It's the first time that Blaze has ever seen Professor Gilbert use his powers on someone and she is shocked at how much energy he has. Axel gives Zan a nod before he turns to Blaze "Let's get out of here".

Blaze and Axel have walked through many of the dangerous areas of this part of the city lying beside train tracks and abandoned buildings. Blaze didn't expect to walk this long in her heals but is relieved that they have made it to the main busier road still buzzing with Friday night traffic and open shops. Blaze: "How come you parked so far away?"

Axel responds "It was easier not to be followed plus I didn't want to risk my car being stolen or damaged. You've seen what it's like where Zan is and there is no CCTV around".

Blaze notices him taking out the remote key to unlock the black Porsche a couple of metres away Blaze: "Makes sense!"

Axel: "So where is home?"

Blaze: "All the way out past Red District, I did say it takes over an hour to commute into work!"

Axel: "I'll use GPS if you type in your zip code here" He points to a touch screen monitor inside the car.

Blaze: "Wait wait! You've been drinking with the Professor how are you going to drive back?"

Axel: "Its fine, it don't affect me and no one is coming to breathalyse me any time soon"

Blaze: "And you call yourself a cop? I could book you right here if I wanted to!"

Axel has no choice but to give in and he hands her over the key before they get out of the car to swap seats.

Axel: "OK you can drive but on one condition….we pick up some proper food on the way back! That sea urchin didn't quite do it for me"

Blaze laughs: "alright deal!"

Axel: "And take it easy on my car." before he can finish his sentence, Blaze has put the car into gear speeding off and driving like she's in Grand Theft Auto. She is a good driver, has excellent control of the gears but she is too fast and just about dodging obstacles in the road. The next ten minutes of the drive consists of Axel becoming a nervous wreck in fear that his car might not see another day and Blaze getting pissed off with other drivers but enjoying the thrill of the fast car. "I've always wanted to drive one of these you know!" she says enthusiastically while her passenger is holding on for dear life. The dark road has become narrow, bendy and what makes it worse is they have driven higher up on a cliff road where the edge is just short of a steep drop. They spot a small diner still open near the top of the cliff and she decides to park the car outside of it- a huge sigh of relief for Axel.

The pair walk into the diner to be greeted by one of the waitresses "Hey peeps you'll have to make this fast, we close in 15 minutes so if you want food you'll need to take it away".

Axel understands as it is now nearly 1:30am "That's fine, what do you have left?" He can see Blaze is really hungry having skipped the earlier dinner. "I can quickly get them to rustle up a couple of cheese burgers and fries?" Blaze's face lights up with joy "Thank you that would be amazing right now!"

The waitress smiles and replies "anything to drink?"

Blaze responds "Can I get a chocolate shake please?" Axel: "I'll have an ice tea please".

Blaze looks at him trying not to laugh as the waitress hands over the bottle "You are such an American! Where I'm from they would call this fake tea. You really haven't lived until you've tried a decent cup of English tea along with digestive biscuits!"

Axel: "I'll be sure to try it if I ever get to experience your home country. You must miss it there, I know that when I travelled a couple of years in Asia whilst I was fighting, I missed all of the little things we take for granted at home". For the first time, they manage to have a decent conversation without any talk of syndicate, police matters and punctuality issues.

Ten minutes later and the food is ready to take out. Blaze delves into her bag "I'd like to get this. I think I owe you an apology for earlier".

Axel: "Don't worry, I know you were referring to Adam your other boss when you mentioned the asshole bit".

The waitress responds to Blaze: "That won't be necessary, he's already settled the bill". Axel must have sneakily paid when she visited the bathroom. Blaze slightly taken back politely thanks him for the food before they leave the diner.

They sit outside on one of the benches next to the edge of the cliff looking out to the city below in the distance. The sound of crickets and some passing cars in the road behind them is the only thing that disturbs the quiet air up here. The gold city lights below dominate the stunning view in front of them while they tuck into the burgers and fries.

"So if Professor Gilbert didn't tell you about my chi, how did you know?"

Axel looks at her having finished his food and replies "I knew that night I first met you in Adam's office when you shook my hand. Caught me right off guard!" he smiles.

Blaze: "And is your girlfriend part of your team of vigilantes also?"

Axel: "No, I don't have a girlfriend. Jess and I were seeing each other for a while casually in secret outside the office but that's all over now".

Blaze: "Wise decision then. I know a Captain at my old district who got caught with another officer- they both got their asses suspended in the end." A slight bitter silence is left in the air.

Axel: "So how are your hands feeling after earlier?"

Blaze smiles: "Yeah they're fine!"

Axel holds out his hand as a peace offering "let me take a look". Blaze anxiously unwraps both of the bandages and opens out her palms in front of him. The deep cuts on each palm are a dark red, clearly very sore and painful. He pulls out a tub of the ointment he used earlier "Zan's homemade remedy, it works but this is going to hurt a bit". Blaze gives him a nod as he carefully takes her hand to apply the ointment. The pain is nothing like she has ever experienced, it burns badly with Blaze trying not to scream or cry out each time. "How the hell did you manage to put this stuff all over yourself earlier?"

Axel: "I'm used to it but it's always the same every time". He places her right hand with the deeper cut between his own hands and within a few seconds the burning subsides. "Don't wrap the wounds anymore tonight, they need air now to heal".

Blaze looks up at him warily "Thank you". She continues "You know, the first time I discovered this was the scariest day of my life".

Axel feeling intrigued: "What happened?"

Blaze laughs for a moment: "The day of my first period and I thought it couldn't get any worse! I was eleven and we were at a family barbeque. I wasn't feeling well so I ran to the back of the garden thinking I was going to be sick. When I turned around I could see everyone there staring at me strangely. I froze and I couldn't move but when I looked down I saw two small blue flames in my hands."

Axel: "What did they do?"

Blaze: "My parents were very superstitious, all part of my father's Middle Eastern culture plus generations of gypsy blood and psychics from my mother's side. That night when we got home, I could hear my parents arguing saying it was the Djinn and that my brother and sister can never talk about this again. My mum's brother Uncle Petrov suggested that burning me alive was the only way to stop it from harming the rest of our family and their honour". Blaze's eyes start to tear up. "You don't have to…" Axel responds not wanting to stress her out anymore.

She wipes her eyes for a second, composing herself to continue. "That night my mother dragged me out of bed and put me in the car to go to my uncle's house to do it. I don't know what my father said to her outside of the car, I just remember being terrified. He ended up driving me far away into the country side to a stranger's house before kissing me on the forehead goodbye. He left an envelope with them full of cash and the next day they used it to enrol me into boarding school using their family name, Fielding. I knew that if I tried to go back, they would burn me alive so I never saw them again. I'm guessing my father told them he did it himself as I found out that the whole family moved out here to Wood Oak City a year later and no one ever came back to look for me."

Axel: "I'm so sorry" feeling horrified at what she went through.

Blaze: "For this reason, I spent years being afraid to use this power until I found Professor Gilbert. Shit I'm sorry I don't know why I've said all this to you, usually I have problems sleeping at night but I must be tired. Please, let's just keep this between us".

Axel: "It's ok Blaze, I understand and I respect you. You're stronger than anyone I know to have come through that."

Blaze: "I'm really not strong inside and I don't know how much I can help your cause"

Axel: "Adam told me what the syndicate did to your family when they moved here and why you joined the police force, despite them turning their backs on you. If that's not strong, I don't know what is." Blaze feels a slight relief like a weight has been lifted off her chest as this is the first time she has ever spoken about her past in this much detail.

Axel: "You know I accidently burnt down my dad's garage with his prized BMW inside it the first time I discovered my chi. I must have been about five!" This puts a smile back on Blaze's face "I can see where you get your protective instincts over your car from then!" She replies.

Axel: "I was lucky, being the only child, mom and dad forgave me and sent me to Japan to study Ninjutsu. Living in a sacred ancient city, secluded from any society taught me so much more about the world and myself. Master Akihiro showed me how to control and strengthen my chi."

Blaze: "That's pretty cool, I wish I started early but I'm grateful to have studied years of Judo which helps. What happened when you came back to Wood Oak?"

Axel: "Well I returned when I was eleven to start high school and luckily there were no more of my dad's cars burnt! My parents were ex cops who owned a Dojo in the City which is where I continued to train, entering competitions- that's how I met Adam! His family became part of ours and they also lived in our neighbourhood. We've been like brothers ever since. When I was 17, I finished school and left Wood Oak to enrol in the military."

Blaze: "Your mum and dad must be proud".

Axel: "Yeah they were. I'm sorry you lost your family".

Blaze: "It's my uncle's fault, he was the head of Wood Oak's largest drug cartel so he had it coming but they didn't have to wipe everyone out. My parents, my brother and sister, cousins, they were all innocent. The saddest thing is the syndicate never knew I existed, so I was the only one who survived".

Axel: "The head of the syndicate killed my parents too and destroyed our house, our dojo, everything whilst I was serving in the military. I regret it every day that I wasn't there to protect them. You know, when I sat opposite the man earlier today who murdered my parents, I looked into his eyes without showing an ounce of emotion. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do".

For the first time, Blaze can see that this man next to her who she thought was cold, calm and composed has opened up and trusted her and is starting to break down, chipping away the surface to reveal a person with the same emotional burdens, sadness, vulnerability and strength all tied together. She reaches over and they share a long hug, recognising that they understand one another's struggles.

Blaze: "You don't have to always be strong. When you're feeling weak and when they get to you like this, I got your back".

Axel: "I got yours too. We have to beat them, there's no other way".

The pair sit there, energy as serene as ever with their arms around each other. It's comforting to know that someone else in the world is battling the same demons as you and can battle them with you. The hug lasts for minutes before dawn starts to break over the city below.


	12. Chapter 11- Sammy's turmoil

**Chapter 11**

5:30am and both Blaze and Axel have agreed for him drive them back to his apartment to save some time as work begins at eight and with his place being near to the city centre, there is at least a chance of a couple of hours sleep. "Once I have a shower and a coffee I need to get back to the office".

Blaze: "Are you sure you're going to be ok without any sleep?"

Axel: "I'll be fine. Keri and Adam still get up early on a Saturday so you'll be able to get a few hours' sleep when we arrive back at the apartment. Adam has his car so he can take you home to pick up a change of clothes if you feel like coming into work later".

Both of them are clearly exhausted but they each needed that night of talking and opening up about their past. As a result, they have a mutual understanding of why they are who they are, as well as the road ahead they must face together in order to avenge their families. Now that Axel's past is out in the open to someone else, the burden feels a fraction lighter than it used to be. His focus is clear now and he knows that his parent's killer must be brought to justice and he won't stop until it's done. All these thoughts and plans are whizzing through his head during the silent drive home and this talk has made him determined more than ever to succeed.

Unfortunately for the person sitting next to him in the passenger seat, this has all bought back too many painful memories that she wishes she blocked out last night. As Blaze looks down at her cut hands she can't hold back the tears any longer and she breaks down, trying to stay quiet as Axel is focussed on the road. He is quickly drawn away from his thoughts of how he is going to take down the syndicate when he realises she is crying next to him. Without saying anything, he takes her hand and closely holds it for the rest of the drive back while she cries out years of hurt that was stored up inside.

Axel parks the car in one of the spaces reserved underneath the block, still holding onto her hand he breaks the silence. "I promise you we will defeat every last one of them together". Blaze lets go of his hand, wiping away the last of her tears. Her expression is blank, staring into space. It's hard for Axel to know what she is thinking at this moment in time, but he knows she is exhausted. "Come on, let's get you upstairs so you can sleep it off". She nods and they both make their way to the elevator up to the apartment. This all feels like one long nightmare right now for Blaze having relived her past in her head, experiencing all the emotion and heartache that her 11 year old self shouldn't of experienced, oppressing these feelings for years and never facing up to them until now. She is so tired that this all feels like one draining blur.

As Axel unlocks the door, the first thing that hits Blaze is the smell of pancakes and eggs. It's already 6:30am and everyone is up, the TV is on and the curtains are wide open. The new day has begun but it seems so strange, how can everything be so normal right now? Keri and Adam come out of the kitchen to the hallway to say good morning, puzzled as to why Blaze is here so early but Keri is very happy and thrilled to see her again after a long time.

Keri walks over beaming with excitement: "Blaze! Damn girl it's good to see you! How's it going working with these two stooges?"

Blaze is still feeling shaken and exhausted and she struggles to register that Keri is talking to her and she is unable to respond as her thoughts are elsewhere. As Keri draws in closer she can see that the pair have stayed up all night, tired eyes without any sleep and that Blaze has been crying.

Keri now feeling concerned reaches out to give her a hug: "Sweetheart what happened? You look like you've seen a ghost what's wrong?" Adam glances over to Axel expecting some answers.

Axel: "Keri is Sasha still asleep in the bedroom?"

Keri: "No she's up with Sammy watching TV in the front room". She turns to Blaze "Come with me honey, you look like you need sleep urgently." Without saying anymore, Keri takes her to the bedroom with an extended bathroom so that Blaze can wash her face, change into something comfortable then get some rest.

As they leave Adam turns to Axel, whispering "What's going on? What the hell is Blaze doing here?"

Axel changes the subject: "I got to leave in ten minutes! Good thing Sammy is up he can come to the station with me this morning to sort out his statement".

Adam: "Are you going to tell me what the fuck is going on?"

Axel gives in as he knows Adam won't back off "Last night she was there at the meeting with Dr. Zan, they know each other".

Adam: "How the hell does she know the doc?"

Axel: "How do you think?"

It finally dawns on Adam the reason why she was at the meeting. "Shit, not two of you. We need to be careful that shit can't get out, the syndicate will use it against us! So is she in with us or out?"

Axel: "She's in".

Adam: "What took you both so long?"

Axel: "We stayed up on this bench for most of the night outside a diner talking".

Adam: "That's a first for you!"

Axel: "I'm fucking serious man, we talked a lot. She told me everything about her past, her chi, everything! I told her about me and why I want the syndicate dead".

Adam: "I told you she got issues. Don't get me wrong, she's a highly skilled agent, an incredible fighter, a nice person but I always knew something wasn't quite right".

Axel: "It's not her fault, she's been through a lot! She wants justice just as much as you or I do."

* * *

Axel: "Here, you're going to need this! It's likely to be a long morning for us both" He hands over a coffee to Sammy inside the car on the way to work after they stopped at a service station.

Sammy: "What happens after I give my statement?"

Axel: "Well we see what evidence we got, investigate further then…"

Sammy: "No I mean, what happens to me?"

Axel: "It's likely that you will have to testify as witness to your friend's murder. In the meantime they will want to put you under witness protection"

Sammy: "No no, I can't.."

Axel: "Don't panic, you and I both no there's no place safer than staying around your brother or me. We will register you under witness protection but you're staying where you are right now".

Sammy: "I know what you and my brother are doing and I want to fight alongside you!"

Axel: "Sammy right now you need to keep a low profile. We dealt with Donovan but anyone else who knows your face is looking for you so until we've caught Tiger, I'm sorry kid you have to stay out of sight".

Sammy understands the consequences of his actions.

Axel: "Listen, when we get to the building, don't leave my sight. Another officer will have to take your statement and question you. I'll be sitting in there with you as your supervising adult so don't stress." He parks the car and looks directly at Sammy's face "I want you to remember everything you say for that statement in case you're put on the stand. Tell them exactly what you told me, the drugs, Kadeem, everything".

Sammy: "Won't they arrest me?"

Axel: "No, I'll take care of that".

Sammy: "Ok…. So what's wrong with Blaze?" he asks inquisitively.

Axel: "Don't you worry, stay focussed on this and keep your cool in there".

It's a long morning with Sammy in the interview room for over three hours. The only time Axel leaves his side is to take care of morning briefing in between and a couple or errands when they have a break from the interview but Sammy is never far away from him. It is difficult for Sammy to recall every last bit of information, from the tattoos he saw to the carpet to Kadeem's T-shirt- it's exhausting. On top of this, picturing the moment his best friend got shot and describing the lead up to it is the hardest thing for Sammy.

Axel: "it's ok kid, you're doing well. Tell them how you got away". It is also strange also for the two officers in uniform interviewing this regular teenager who is the brother of one of their superiors with the other one representing him.

Finally after the interview is over and the description of Tiger is taken for the sketch artist, it is a huge relief for Sammy. One of the officers in front of him comments "Thank you for your cooperation Eddie Hunter, it's a big help in getting to the bottom of this drug cartel and I'm sorry you lost your friend". It's rare that anyone calls Sammy by his real name these days- that's when he knows he is in a serious situation.

Axel: "I just need to sort a couple of things out in my office then I can take you back to the apartment". The pair leave the interview room on the ground floor to go upstairs to his office. Near the entrance to the building Sammy spots a woman shouting and crying who is next to an officer. "That's Kadeem's mom!"

She has been called into the station to identify her son's body. In despair, she notices Sammy in the distance and runs towards him. "Sammy please, please what happened to my son? Do you know anything? Were you with him when he died? I have to know, please, who did this to my boy?" At this point she is crying and desperate for answers, clinging onto Sammy. "I'm sorry Mrs Saunders.. I er… I'm sorry!" He starts to break down. Axel quickly rushes him away from the situation, leaving the other officers present to assist Kadeem's mother. As they enter the elevator, Sammy can hear her shouting and crying. Axel: "I'm sorry I had to get you out of there. The less people here that know who you are, the better. The fucking syndicate have their eyes everywhere, are you ok?"

Sammy sighs "yeah, I'll be fine….. Where did they find his body? Can I at least go to his funeral?"

Axel: "I'm sorry kid, it's for your own protection until we find his killer. They found him in the canal".

Sammy, feeling sick replies "fuck this! We're wasting time, we need to find them and kill them! You, my brother, the feds they have Tiger's location why are we just sitting here doing nothing?!"

Axel: "Don't you think we haven't sent anyone to verify that yet? They're gone, they moved their operation because of the risk and what you know! We only have so much to go by right now but be patient, we will find his killer".

They exit the elevator to the top floor. As they walk along the corridor, they are greeted by senior officers some of whom are taking on some of Axel and Adam's responsibilities while he is acting as DC- another layer of stress for Axel to contemplate. Jess coldly walking in the opposite direction towards them comments "Why the hell is there a member of the general public here, let alone a child in this restricted part of the building?"

Axel: "Are you questioning my authority lieutenant?"

Jess smiles, "We'll see what O'Neil has to say about this then when he gets back".

Axel: "First off, I'm the acting DC until he gets back so there is nothing you can do and secondly deal with your personal shit and hate towards me outside the office. O'Neil has better things to do than hear you complaining about a member of public on this floor".

Jess: "Fine, I intend to take this up with Hunter then!"

Sammy can't help but burst out laughing.

Jess, turns to Sammy and angrily responds: "What the fuck is so funny kid? I'm sorry but you're going to have to leave now you shouldn't be here".

Sammy replies: "My brother always said you was a bitch, he was right!"

Axel who is clearly pissed off now looks at Sammy thinking why has he just revealed his identity in front of her, insulting a senior officer which can also get Adam into trouble- is this boy stupid? But he does have a point.

Jess who is now more annoyed then ever draws closer, looking Axel in the face. "You might be acting DC right now, but sooner or later your job, O'Neil's and Hunter's will be for the taking. I always get what I intend to have one way or another". She eyeballs him up and down and starts to walk away.

She turns around and smiles "Oh and kid, tell your brother the bitch said hi! I'll have to buy him a drink when he gets back from his leave".

Sammy loses his patience but Axel holds him back "Don't! She's not worth it!"

* * *

Lieutenant Sam Davidson enters his isolated cell in his orange jumpsuit. He is in protective custody and has several more hearings to attend before a verdict and sentencing are given for the organised events at Red and Central District. He knows what the consequences are and is terrified at what lies ahead.

"Davidson, you have a visitor" one of the prison officers says. Sam gets up off his bed, walking towards the electric door. They handcuff him before escorting him to another room with a table, chairs and thick glass windows. As they enter, he spots DC O'Neil sitting on one of the chairs.

O'Neil: "Thank you officer". The prison officer leaves the two of them alone inside the room.

Sam: "Chief please tell them I didn't do this! I swear I am not responsible for what happened at your district or my own. I saw you at the hearings, observing and you've seen the evidence they provided. It's bullshit! I didn't do this! Tell them!"

O'Neil: "Take a seat."

Sam: "I'm being framed here you have to believe me!"

O'Neil: "I came here because I need something from you. Sometimes, unfortunately we have to make sacrifices so that the world can be a better place. We are going through many reforms all over Wood Oak Police Department that Government Officials, Attorney's, council leaders need us to do so that we can thrive again. Your Red District Deputy Ramos was one of those sacrifices who didn't believe in the same ideology as us. I believe he gave you a memory stick with some very important, classified information before he was killed".

Sam: "It was you! You fucking set me up! You planned all of this, that's why you were out of the office the day Central HQ was attacked". Another prison officer abruptly enters the room to restrain Sam.

O'Neil: "We've searched your apartment, your car, your girlfriends place but there is no sign of that memory stick. Tell us who you gave it to and I will get the attorney's to swap the death penalty to twenty years maximum instead".

Sam: "I am not going to die or rot in prison for something I didn't do!"

O'Neil stands and walks towards him: "What could be so important on that memory stick that you can't exchange it for your life? Let's give this one last try, who did you hand it over to?" The prison officer still has Sam restrained and it is clear that he won't give in.

O'Neil turns to the officer, "he knows too much now"

As Sam struggles to break free, the officer quickly ties a belt around his neck and strangles him to death.

O'Neil: "Make it look like a hanging."

The acting prison officer is a big, fat stocky man who is incredibly strong therefore Sam had little chance of fleeing his restraint. His real name is Benjamin Rogers, on the streets he is nicknamed for this reason as 'Big Ben'. He is a notorious criminal who isn't afraid of torturing others or finishing the job in any gruesome way possible.

Ben: "Mr X needs that memory stick and were running out of time now".

O'Neil: "Our priority is to get it back as soon as possible. The whole reason why we transferred those Reds was because we suspected they knew what was on there or had it themselves. We will continue with the search, I will need my team to assist so that we can find it quickly whilst covering our tracks. Leave it with me".


	13. Chapter 12- Intoxication

**Chapter 12**

Midday and Blaze has been sleeping since she came back with Axel to the apartment. The bedroom is dark with the curtains drawn. Everything here is quiet as the apartment is high up at the top of the block. It seems so new and tidy with a king size comfortable bed, a small extended bathroom from the bedroom and a walk in wardrobe. This bedroom alone is bigger than her small cosy apartment. The joys of having a Captain promotion, not that he gets to spend much time at home plus Axel probably has a cleaner if it's this tidy or he must be OCD! She thinks this to herself as she opens her eyes and stretches. Either way, it did feel good to get some decent sleep.

Blaze turns over and catches little Sasha sitting on the bed on the other side with a book in her hand, staring at her looking worried. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you".

Blaze switches on the bedside lamp and smiles at her "Hey that's ok, what are you reading?"

Sasha: "This is the adventure of Tyler the Turtle".

Blaze: "Wow he looks smart, it seems like you've almost finished the book!"

Sasha nods her head smiling.

Blaze: "You know your mom and dad use to help rescue turtles a long time ago whenever they could".

Sasha's face lights up: "Really? That's cool!"

Blaze: "Sometimes when the sea and the beach get really dirty, the turtles find it hard to swim and sleep there. When I worked with your dad a long time ago, we all use to visit the coast every weekend to stop this from happening and we use to find the turtles that needed our help".

Sasha: "I want to see a real turtle one day!"

Blaze: "I'm sure we will go back there and you will see lots! They like to come out at night when all the humans stop sunbathing!" They both laugh.

Sasha: "Are you a princess?"

Blaze laughs: "Erm, not that I know of"

Sasha smiles: "Your accent is funny but you're really pretty so I think you are one"

Just as Blaze smiles, Keri opens the bedroom door "Sasha, I told you Blaze was sleeping."

Blaze: "It's ok, I need to get up I should have been at work hours ago"

Keri opens the curtains, the bright sunlight from outside is strong but the view through the glass windows down to the bustling city and skyscraper-filled skyline is a stunning sight.

Blaze looks at the clock "Oh wow its midday?"

Keri: "Yeah you seemed like you needed the sleep after the night you had…. Adam told me what happened. It's good to see you Blaze". The three of them share a group hug.

Blaze: "I heard also about what happened yesterday to you and Sammy, are you ok?"

Keri: "Yeah, we need to find another place to live but at least we have each other" she smiles.

Sasha: "Mommy is having a baby in six months!"

Blaze: "Oh my God! I'm so happy for you and Adam, that's amazing news!" The positive news cheers her up a lot.

Keri: "I know, we are having our first scan next week, I can't wait! Girl we have so much catching up to do, screw work! Your boss will understand!"

Blaze laughs: "I know right? This is too weird! I'm sleeping in his bed and I think you gave me his t-shirt that I'm wearing!"

Keri: "Don't worry, he won't notice the t-shirt, Ax left straight away this morning for work without any sleep. That office is more like his home than here!"

Blaze smiles: "Yeah, it's good of him to put us up like this especially after he heard me talking about him being an 'asshole'!" She tries to mime it as Sasha is in the room.

The pair spend the next two hours in there eating snacks, drinking hot chocolate and catching up.

Adam knocks on the bedroom door "is it safe to come in?"

Blaze: "Sure boss!" Both ladies laugh hysterically.

Adam: "Great to see you smiling again Blaze but shouldn't you be at work now?"

Blaze: "Yeah erm, Axel said…"

Adam cuts her off "I'm just kidding Blaze, it's all good I ain't firing you anytime soon!" They laugh.

Blaze: "Congratulations on your news, that's wonderful! And Sasha and I are getting to know each other too, she's definitely a smart kid you should be proud!"

Adam: "Yeah, too smart!" He smiles at Sasha "Sweetie your lunch is ready go to the kitchen and try not to make a mess."

Keri: "Heard anything yet from Sammy?"

Adam: "No, I logged in to check but his statement hasn't been filed yet so I don't think they are finished. So Blaze, it's been a while since we caught up properly outside of work. I'm sorry I haven't been there the past few days, the extra load you guys have had must have been stressful".

Blaze: "No its ok, you don't have to explain I understand. We've handled it really well, I covered most of your duties along with the other lieutenants so it's all taken care of".

Adam: "Thanks seniorita!" She smiles, Adam has always referred to her with this nickname.

Blaze: "Hey do you know what time were all meeting later and where?"

Adam: "I'll know in a few hours when Axel finishes work I guess, these things are always last minute and he's left his cell phone in the hallway. I wish I knew the code to turn it off, Jess has been blowing up his phone the last hour! Why can't they just deal with their couple dilemmas in person or at work?"

Keri responds: "Well you know why! It's against the rules there but everyone is entitled to a social life especially when you work like this. You know she stopped by drunk last night after they met up because her phone was dead and she needed to call a cab".

Blaze: "They met up last night?"

Keri: "Yeah, must have been before your meeting. I don't know who that bitch thinks she is all dressed up like a stripper, even for a player he sure got that one wrong. But that's Ax anyway, always attracting trouble because he's trouble!" She laughs.

Blaze: "I should get changed and ready to go back now, do you guys mind giving me ten minutes?"

Keri: "Sure, take all the time you need". Keri leaves the room.

Adam: "Blaze can I have a minute?" He sits down on the bed.

Blaze: "what's up?"

Adam: "Ax told me to give this to you, he said you'd be needing it". He pulls out of his pocket a small tub of ointment, acknowledging that he knows everything now. She replies "I won't be needing this, I can look after the wounds myself".

Adam: "That is some serious shit you're messing with, just promise me you will be careful. Are you sure you don't want me to drive you back?"

Blaze: "I'll be ok, thanks Adam"

Adam: "I'll text you the time we are all meeting later and location as soon as I know".

* * *

Axel takes a late afternoon lunchbreak and uses it to drop Sammy back to the apartment "you did good kid, I'm sorry you had to see that earlier".

Sammy: "I wish that we never got involved with Donovan, I knew it was a bad idea. I put everyone else in danger".

Axel: "Hey maybe it's a good idea if you come with us later on, I think we should start training you up again so that you can protect yourself".

Sammy: "Sometimes all I can think about is shooting Tiger in the head for what he did. Kadeem was stupid at times but he was like my brother, I wish I could have saved him. You would have saved Adam if it was him, I ran away!"

Axel: "You had a choice, stay and die with all those thugs and weapons against you or run and save yourself. You made the right choice. If it was me and your brother you know it would be different, we fight until the end but Kadeem led you down the wrong path where you could have been killed."

Sammy: "Now I have to live with this"

Axel: "Ok I'll make you a promise. When and I say when we catch Tiger, I'll give you the gun and you make that choice"

Sammy: "Adam would never let me."

Axel: "If you want to fight with us, you will face tough decisions every time. We live, we die and we live with the consequences of our actions. Accept that. Tiger wasn't afraid to pull the trigger on your friend, don't let what you witnessed rule the rest of your life. Trust me, I know what that's like and it's not nice waking up every day wishing you could have changed the past. Only now matters".

Sammy: "I guess".

Axel: "Here, take these and keep them within reach at all times even at home. If Adam and I are out or if Adam is away when you find a place to live, you need to protect yourself and your family".

He hands over a handgun wrapped in a black cloth and a knife. "The safety catch needs to always be on until you choose to use it and keep it out of reach from Sasha. We'll show you how to shoot later".

Sammy: "Thanks".

* * *

Its early evening and Blaze is back at her apartment. It feels like a whole world away from last night and she has thought this through a lot. She is now more focussed and determined to get the job done. As she switches on her TV the 6pm Saturday news bulletin is on air. She instantly recognises the face on the TV, Javier Williams- wanting to make Wood Oak City a better place! As she turns the volume up, it shows him doing an interview promoting himself for council leader. Her heart pounds and she can feel goose bumps on her arms just by hearing his voice. This is the man that wiped out her family, who wants her power to wipe out more. These thoughts are spinning around in her head over and over again. She is startled when a bolt of blue energy dashes out of her right hand, hitting the TV and cracking the screen. She quickly turns off the main electric supply as the TV sparks, "Shit!" She is more shocked that the energy projected this time, wondering how on earth she did it. And to make matters worse, her hand starts bleeding again so she wraps around it a kitchen cloth.

 _#phone pings#_

 _New Message_

 _Adam: 8:30pm, inside Monument Arena. Say to the guy on the door Hunter sent you and he will show you in. And dress up or they won't let you through"._

What? This is supposed to be a strategic meeting not a concert! Blaze sighs and reluctantly she starts to get ready.

* * *

8:30pm and Blaze is unsure if she should que up with everyone else or go straight to the bouncer. She scans the surroundings where everyone else is queuing up. They consist either of couples or large groups of friends all overly dressed for the occasion. Blaze is relieved to have made an effort- it's better to be overdressed than too casual. It's not in her comfort zone but tonight she has her favourite colour red on. Short red dress, red heals, red lipstick with a short black leather jacket and her long dark hair down. Being by herself, she is getting a bit of attention in the que so she decides to divert away from it and reaches for her cell phone to call Adam, the only number she has who is here. Of course, it keeps going to voicemail so he must already be inside. This que is taking too long so she walks over to the bouncer on the door "Hunter sent me".

He replies: "Please step inside".

A female bouncer approaches her with a drugs detector and Blaze raises her arms so that she can be searched. Another woman in a long black dress then comes over to her with a smile. "You must be Miss Fielding, it's nice to meet you. Please follow me".

Puzzled at why she is here, Blaze follows the lady around the corner and up a carpeted flight of stairs to a private viewing booth in the arena. It's almost like your own box, with two comfortable couches and a table full of refreshments with a bottle on ice. "Would you like some champagne Miss Fielding?" Slightly overwhelmed but keeping her cool, Blaze smiles and replies "Thank you". Another lady steps in to take her jacket before she has the chance to sit down.

Blaze is feeling slightly uneasy as she is a lightweight when it comes to alcohol and probably will get tipsy with a whole bottle to herself, "is all of this for me?"

The lady smiles and responds: "Your colleagues should be here shortly before the fight begins"

Blaze: "fight?"

She opens the booth curtain and takes a look over the balcony and sees a lit up boxing ring in the middle of the arena. This is all a little bit weird, why would they drag her all the way back to the city to watch a fight?

Half an hour, 45 minutes, 1 hr passes by, three glasses of champagne later and still no sign of anyone and there seems to be a delay with one of the fighters. To her surprise, suddenly a large, tall muscular man with shaven hair in a suit bursts into the room accompanied by three women dressed up who are flirting and laughing with him.

Angrily Blaze turns to the group "I'm sorry but this room is reserved!"

One of the women turns around and laughs "we don't bite, chill out we'll watch the match sitting on the other couch in here". Another woman turns to the man who has his arm around her "Jesus, this bitch has knocked back most of the bottle!"

Blaze squares up to her: "Who you calling bitch?"

The man steps between the two of them, "ladies please, I don't want any stress right now! We can order as much champagne as you girls want".

Blaze turns to him: "do I look like one of your groupies?"

The man responds "please accept my apologies Blaze. Tonight the fight is having a few start up issues so we will finish later than usual."

Blaze: "I don't care about the stupid fight, I'm here for a meeting. Where the fuck is Axel and Adam?"

The man extends his hand out politely. For a scary looking fighter, in a suit with a huge scar down one side of his face from his forehead over his eye then to his jaw, he is very calm and collected, even if Blaze's temper is flaring up. "I'm Max Hatchet, the owner of this place. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Blaze feeling award, knowing she has offended him quietly shakes his hand. "Thank you for the champagne but it's now 10pm, I don't have time to waste".

Max: "Business will be discussed after the match".

Blaze: "I don't get why we couldn't of just arranged to come here afterwards, what's the point of all this?"

Max sits down on the other couch with the three women surrounding him, the crowd from below becoming louder. "Where do you think we get our funding from?"

Blaze: "I didn't expect this. You seem like a respectable fighter, as am I but I'm not going to waste your time. Enjoy your evening." She gets up to open the door to leave, realising that the alcohol has kicked in and has got to her head.

She stumbles out of the room but fortunately a tall guy in a smart black suit has caught her in time, stopping her from falling.

Axel: "Woah, easy there! Are you ok?"

Blaze pushes him away, "I need to get some air". She starts walking away in the opposite direction to the exit.

Axel: "The exit is this way but the fight is about to start. Let's go back in and no more alcohol for now, I need you alert for the meeting afterwards. This is Max's joint and he is an important part of our team, please try and get to know him".

Blaze: "You might have the authority at work to tell me what to do, but don't for a second think you can order me around outside. I agreed to work _with_ you and your team to take down the syndicate, all of that mattered more than anything last night."

Axel: "And we will, just give it a chance".

Blaze sighs: "Anyway, this is outrageous! I had to wait an hour in there and I had that whole bottle to myself so what do you expect? You are exceptionally late!" The Queen of England is back in the building.

Axel responds without thinking: "You look exceptionally beautiful".

She hates the fact that he knows exactly how to silence her but it's that hot chocolate butterfly moment all over again.

Axel: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. Let's go back in there, get this match over with. Adam, Sammy, the Dr and a couple of other people are going to join us afterwards. I assure you that you will meet everyone tonight and we will have the chance to cover everything."

Blaze: "Okay… Thank you".

They enter the viewing booth to find on the table three more bottles of champagne on ice and some more people sat on both the couches facing the balcony with the match about to begin below. Max and two other men get up to greet them.

Axel: "I take it you've met Max already. This guy is Luca, the cities' best hacker and this is Enzo, Max's cousin". Both men turn to shake Blaze's hand.

The crowd are extremely loud at this point and the room they are in is very busy with staff going in and out, bringing canapes, glasses and cigars. There are also three more women in the room sat next to the other men on the second couch where Blaze sat earlier. There is barely any more room to sit down.

Max being a professional wrestler and successful business man is clearly use to this type of lifestyle- the money, the fights, the parties and the girls. He looks up at Axel with his arms around two of the women in the room "there's plenty of chicks to go round man".

Axel replies: "I'm good" as he takes one of the cigars from the table and walks with Blaze over to the other crowded couch where Enzo and one of the women are smoking and kissing. "Get the fuck up Enzo!" Axel tells them. Enzo and the women stand up straight away and leave the room, giving them some space to sit down next to Luca and the woman on his lap.

The lights in the arena and booth start to dim and the air is thick with smoke. It is intoxicating and uncomfortable for Blaze, still tipsy, who is sat between Axel to her left on the end of the couch and Luca making out with the woman on her right.

Axel pulls out a small bottle of water from under the table and passes it to Blaze "drink this". The pair next to them on the couch are getting tipsier at the start of the match and are spilling drink and ash on the floor, pushing Blaze over to the left. To deal with the four of them squashed next to each other, Axel puts his arm around the couch behind her before lighting his cigar with one flick from his hand. He takes a puff of the cigar then breathes out the smoke slowly "the smoke don't affect me but if it is irritating your breathing, tell me".

Blaze: "I'm fine, honestly".

The fighters have entered the arena now. Everyone else in the booth glances back and forth to the match as they watch fights nearly every weekend but this is far more exciting for Axel and Blaze to see. "The bit before the fight is always the hardest with your enemy sizing you up trying to intimidate you to lose focus". Axel comments

Blaze: "Who do you think will win?"

Axel: "See the guy in the blue, Stephen Chang. He is one of Wood Oak's most accomplished mixed martial arts fighters with more than four titles under his wing. He also belongs to the triads that work for the syndicate who have representatives sitting on the other side. The younger guy however in the red, that's Raven. He is one of Max's wrestling students and is one of the best kickboxers we know. He also happens to be on our team so he has our support. Raven is relatively new to the fighting scene with no title yet under his belt so he is the underdog. My bets are on him to win".

Blaze: "But the other guy has more experience in the ring and isn't that much older"

Axel: "Why do you think you and me hold the biggest threat to Mr X's empire?"

Blaze: "We seek revenge, we are the best fighters in the city, we have chi?"

Axel: "No. It's because we have nothing left to lose, just like Raven. He has no title or reputation to keep up. That's what makes a fighter hungrier to succeed. When I use to fight, my boss took all my trophies, medals, everything. I only ever wore these" he pulls out a chain with dog tags from under his shirt. "The reason he did that was so I didn't become content and it kept me hungry to win". .

Blaze: "but your still human, staying hungry eventually kills you".

 _#phone vibrates#_ on the table in front of them _._

 _ **Jess Hart**_

 _Answer Reject_

Axel: "Sorry I got to take this, it's probably work. Please excuse me for a minute".

Blaze: "Sure".

Feeling disappointed, Blaze stays to watch the rest of the fight with her arms crossed and some more glasses of champagne.

Half an hour later and Axel is back near the end of the fight "I'm so sorry I left you here a while, I had to deal with something outside".

Blaze: "Yeah I think you're right, it looks like Raven is going to win now. I have nothing and no one to lose and I intend to keep things that way".

Axel: "The meeting takes place straight after the match. Stay with Max, he will show you where to go."

Blaze: "Where are you going?"

Axel: "Jess was supposed to work at the office tonight. Instead she didn't show up to her duty because she overdosed on coke earlier. She's in a bad way right now and needs some help as she owes the dealers some money and they are stopping by at her house in half an hour."

Blaze: "Can't the police or any of her family help her?"

Axel: "If she calls the police, she will understandably lose her career. Her family are out of town. I'll just talk to them and settle the bill and hopefully that will be the end of it".

Blaze: "Yeah, until next time."

Raven celebrates with a clear knockout as the crowds cheer and chant his name. He fought very well and never gave up, even when it looked like his opponent had the advantage. As they leave the room, Blaze without saying anymore accompanies Max to the other side of the arena, leaving Axel to exit the premises alone.

* * *

After a fast, frantic drive Axel reaches Jess's house and knocks on the door. One of the dealers opens the door while Jess is sat crying on the sofa with a gun to her head.

Axel: "How much coke did you sell her?"

Dealer: "Half a kilo"

Axel: "So I'm guessing you're after 40 grands worth?"

Dealer: "She owes us interest also".

Axel: "Mind if I have a look?"

Dealer: "Be my guest". He investigates the bag, taking a sample and shaking it in a small glass tube.

Axel: "This is bullshit, its only 70% pure and isn't worth that much. I'll tell you what I can do, I'll give you half the money along with your life". The two men laugh "we're the ones holding the gun here".

Axel: "20K and that's my final offer". He pulls a knife out and within a second, he throws it at the man holding the gun. The knife takes him by surprise, puncturing and landing through his palm, forcing him to drop the gun. Axel quickly gets out his handgun and opens fire on the man while Jess runs over to him. He then aims the gun towards the dealer.

Axel: "My patience is running out, are you taking the deal or not?" The dealer responds and they settle the bill.

Axel: "Since we've settled the debt, they'll be no more incidents here because next time I will kill you instead".

The dealer shakes his hand and leaves the house.

Axel: "I'll call someone to clean up the body, in the meantime get yourself some help. This is the last time I do this, I mean it".

Jess holds onto him, kissing him on the mouth "Thank you, I'll pay you back I promise!" He pushes her away "I still mean what I said the other night, it's over between us. You're safe now". He takes the bag of coke and empties it down the sink.

Jess: "No! What are you doing? That's mine!"

Axel: "This stuff will kill you first before they do".

He walks away, leaving Jess to trash her own place, desperate to salvage anything she can from the sink. The rest is up to her if she chooses to sink or swim.


	14. Chapter 13- Temper Tantrum

**Chapter 13**

The group have driven to an abandoned warehouse about a mile away from the arena. Behind a room full of cardboard boxes and crates, Adam, Sammy, Blaze, Zan, Max and Luca are sat around a table. The room is cold and bear with a punch bag, box full of skipping ropes and weights scattered around the place. There is also a smart board connected to a laptop.

Blaze: "What's in those crates outside?"

Max smiles and with ease he lifts one of them from the other room, carries it over and slams it down on the table before opening it. "These are just some of our supplies". He pulls out at least five different types of firearms plus ammunition. "Some of the other crates contain the drugs we stole from the syndicate".

Adam interrupts: "It's been a long day so I'm going to start the meeting before Axel and Raven get here, welcome to the team Blaze and Sammy!" Just as he is about to start, a car parks up outside and Raven enters the building.

Max smiles: "Well done, that was some fight you gave back there to that syndicate fucker".

Adam: "I'm sorry I missed your fight Raven, I heard it was one of your best"

Raven smiles: "It's all the 5am starts and hours of training that paid off, plus I have a great coach" he nods at Max, noticing Blaze across the table.

Adam: "You've met my lil bro, he's a rookie but he is about to learn how shit goes down around here and this is my colleague on the force, Blaze".

Raven: "Hey Sammy it's good to see you again" he also smiles at Blaze, curious as to what she can do for the team and why she might be a powerful force to recon with.

Raven has known the group for the last four years. He initially came to Wood Oak looking for work and fleeing a large gang known as the Aguilas that he was born into in Mexico. Max took him in when Raven wanted to expand his fighting knowledge and one year later Max made a deal with the head of the Aguilas that spared Raven's life. He is clearly a great, humble fighter who is focussed on training hard every day. His punches are just as powerful as Adam's and they would have an epic fight if they ever decided to get into the kick boxing ring together. He is also tall, 6ft 3, jet black hair, tanned skin and hazel brown eyes, beaming with confidence but not arrogance.

Adam: "Dr Zan please can you show the group our findings".

Zan types away at the laptop connected to the smart board in front of the table "this man is Javier Williams also known as Mr X. Over the past couple of days I have been investigating his whereabouts and activities. He is incredibly hard to track down and is well protected by his team. As far as we know, he has no power, no chi but he is working closely with the Yamato cult behind the scenes. His plan is to take as much power as possible to build nuclear weapons and cyborgs so that he can control the city."

He loads another page.

"This as you know is his right hand man, Shiva who oversees his criminal activities. He is one of the most dangerous men in the world and his chi is the most powerful known to their organisation. He is extremely religious, following the traditions and superstitions of the Yamato. In order to get to Mr X, he needs to be dealt with first.

Lastly we have Tiger, of whom Sammy has had dealings with. He too has powerful chi and is an unpredictable, insane criminal who oversees distribution and the organisations run by the syndicate".

Adam: "Thank you Professor Gilbert. In aid of William's campaign next month, the syndicate have stored at least 15 million dollars at the Central bank to legitimately use. Our plan is to steal that cash and crush their assets first before they gain any more powerful allies. Currently X is in control of the attorneys, much of the council and even parts of the police force. We also believe that his men are responsible for the murder of Mayor Ellison-Rhys."

Adam continues, "Every Monday morning Tiger sends one of his associates to Central bank to add to their assets any money they can clean out from the weekend. The room containing a large safe on the top floor is heavily guarded and can only be opened by a member of staff up there whenever one of Tiger's associates sign in. Here is a map of the bank given to us by the janitor who works there undercover. On Sunday night he will turn off any CCTV at the bank. Our plan is to get into the bank a decoy before Tiger's associate reaches the top floor. Usually he sends one of his women to do this."

Blaze: "What do you need me to do?"

Adam: "Once you are in, you will need to kill the associate without anyone seeing you".

Zan hands over a box to her with a syringe inside "inject this in her neck and she will quietly die within ten seconds".

Adam: "You will then take her briefcase and ID card up to the top floor, giving it to the member of staff who will sign you in before opening the safe. Pay close attention to the code when he does this then leave the bank as if nothing happened. Outside you will give us the code and the rest of our team will take of it from there".

Max: "By hijacking their finances, their drug money, they won't be able to expand like they are hoping to. This is our starting point".

Blaze: "Either way it's going to take time to bring down the whole organisation".

Raven: "We're all working on different areas. Luca has continued to hack their accounts and phones for the last few months and now that we know Mr X's identity, now that is the next step. Max and I will deal with taking down their fight clubs and gyms one by one."

Adam: "Now that you know what's going on, are there any questions?"

Everyone stays silent. "Ok, both of you take one of these" he takes out two new cell phones. "Sammy and Blaze will need to be shown the codes we message each other when we have to use these."

After the meeting Luca gets to work on the laptop whilst Max takes the opportunity to put some music on and use the weights in the corner. It's a little obsessive to find a guy taking off his smart white shirt, keeping his smart trousers on from his suit while bench pressing. Adam takes some time out also with Sammy to get a half an hours' worth of late night training done using the rope and punch bag.

Blaze: "Its quarter to one now, I have to go back to work tomorrow! Adam can you take me home when you guys have finished?"

Adam: "We still have work to do."

Blaze smiles: "And how do you expect me to work tomorrow boss?"

Adam: "I thought you have problems sleeping anyway".

Blaze sighs and sits herself back down at the table.

"Hey if you want I can give you a ride back, I'm done fighting for the night" Raven says as he pulls up the chair next to her "but first let me write down our message codes just in case you ever have to use this phone".

He spends the next half an hour helping her out.

Blaze: "Thanks Raven, I think I got this now"

Raven: "You're welcome Blaze. So you're from London? Best city in the world I've visited outside of Wood Oak".

Blaze: "Yeah that's home!"

Raven: "I trained there for six months before I settled here in Wood Oak, the funniest thing ever is the tube- it's like a warzone at 8am".

Blaze laughs: "Yeah that's one thing I don't miss! That was a great fight earlier, I saw it from the booth upstairs. You never gave up even when he was punching the crap out of you!"

Raven smiles: "Yeah it's a psychological battle as much as it is physical. Now I have the bruises to prove it" he points to his black eye.

Blaze: "Well I hope you get your first title soon I'm sure all the hard work will pay off"

Raven: "My title match is in two weeks from now, would you like to come and see the fight?"

Blaze: "Sure! Thanks"

Raven: "Have you ever fought competitively then?"

Blaze laughs: "Me? No, not yet only to defend myself and kick ass"

Adam interrupts from his training with Sammy across the room "Raven she can definitely kick your ass if you were in a fight. Blaze is one of the best fighters I know".

Raven smiles: "Well you never know, you'll have to teach me some moves one day plus you could be the next champion if you wanted it."

Blaze: "I've danced competitively, it's fun but I will have to try the same for fighting one day although I'm not a boxer or kickboxer, I've always stuck to Judo."

Raven: "Dancer also? You're talented all round then. I'll make you a deal, if I teach you kickboxing you can teach me how to dance- I have fast feet so that might help?"

Blaze laughs: "Ok deal!"

Adam: "Blaze can you go over to Luca for five minutes, he's going to take your photo then create some ID for you".

Raven: "Give me ten minutes when your done I just got to speak to Max then I can drop you home"

Blaze: "Thanks- it's a bit of a journey out past red district so if you're tired I understand, Adam has his car".

Raven: "That's fine, my driver is on standby outside so you're safe!"

Blaze "Oh Ok, if he's fine with that thank you!" she smiles and walks off towards Luca.

1:30am and Axel finally parks his car and joins the group.

Adam: "I've already briefed the group now, how did it go?"

Axel: "I took care of it". He stops that conversation from going any further and walks over towards Max and Raven to greet them.

Raven: "Yo Ax it's good to see you bro!"

Axel: "Well done Raven tonight you fought like a champion, this crazy motherfucker over here can sleep well later" he refers to his coach Max.

Max: "I know I'm proud, but he still has work to do with two weeks left until the title match"

Axel: "Well I know we got a lot going on with this group but if you need any extra coaching or fighting practise let me know. Will also try and make it to the match if I'm off duty".

Raven: "Thanks man, I appreciate that. I asked Blaze also to come to the match with everyone, I know you're her boss so maybe you or Adam could give her that evening off?"

Axel: "Yeah of course, we're all here to support you."

Raven: "Thanks!"

Max: "Adam said she's an interesting fighter, but she's got a temper on her and an attitude. She must be a nightmare to have on the team at times".

Axel: "Blaze can be hot headed but Zan will help her with that". They glance over to the Professor who is in his own element fixing the broken electric heater.

Axel: "Did you guys give her a cell phone yet?"

Max: "Yeah, Raven showed her the codes" the three of them turn their glance over the room towards Blaze who is talking to Luca.

Raven: "Yeah it's all good she knows the ropes. I'll tell you something, this mamacita is gorgeous plus she is smart and she can fight, I'm looking forward to working with her!" Max grins and taps him on the shoulder.

Raven: "Speaking of which, I better take her home now before you guys are on her case tomorrow for being late. I'll see you Monday morning Ax"

Axel: "Yeah, see you Monday".

Raven walks over to Blaze on the other side of the room smiling. They both say goodbye to the rest of the group, Blaze just about acknowledging Axel's presence in the room with a brief forced smile as the pair leave the warehouse.

Max: "Raven certainly has a way with chicks! This one is a challenge but I'm sure he can handle her, they seem to be getting along really well and he might genuinely stick with this one, who knows!"

Feeling pissed off, Axel doesn't reply and walks away unbuttoning the top of his white shirt and rolling up his sleeves. "Adam pass me those gloves".

Adam throws the gloves then walks over to the punch bag hanging up near the middle of the room to hold it in place. Axel quietly puts his fists in front of his face to examine the bag before delivering 12 fast powerful punches that almost knock Adam over behind the bag.

Adam is shocked: "What the fuck is your problem man!?"

Axel who has now worked up a sweat abruptly throws the gloves on the floor. The group are used to seeing him calm and composed so they are astonished to witness him like this.

Adam: "Are you sure everything was ok tonight?"

Axel: "I told you, I fixed that!"

Adam: "Ok ok! I picked up a sleeping bag for you so go home and rest you've had two nights with no sleep"

Axel: "Thanks, I'll probably be asleep when you and Sammy get back".

As he leaves, Zan follows him outside, stepping into the passenger side of his car.

Axel: "Do you need me to drive you back?"

Zan: "No thank you, I'm staying at the warehouse tonight with Luca to work on those files we are trying to locate".

Axel: "So why are you out here then?"

Zan: "That temper of yours, it could get someone killed if your energy gets out. I know it's been a long night but control yourself!"

Axel: "I told you, I sorted things out earlier I had to go and deal with Jess's drug dealers, I killed someone because of it but it's done now, they won't be back".

Zan: "I might be an old man and half machine but I'm not blind! I know that's not the reason why you are so angry".

Axel: "I've had over 48 hours with no sleep, yesterday I met the man who killed my parents what do you expect?"

Zan: "I know you and even with your sleep deprivation and hate towards the syndicate, you still deal with this and your feelings on this are usually kept controlled and well-hidden deep down".

Axel: "If you'd excuse me I need to drive home now"

Zan: "No one else can notice but I've seen the way you look at her".

It's a long pause but Axel knows he has been caught off guard. He finally replies slightly calmer in his tone of voice. "After we left last night, we told each other everything".

Zan: "Did she tell you about her family?"

Axel: "Yes. I never considered someone else having gone through worse than what I went through as a result of my parent's killers until now. She was just a kid when it all happened".

Zan: "I know. And I know that you're angry because whatever feelings you have towards her, you can't control them. Avoiding the situation won't change anything, you need to be honest with yourself and accept that you are human and fear is part of being human."

It's hard to admit but Axel knows that the professor is always right. He backs down his argument and wishes Zan a good night before he leaves the car.

It's a short drive home but it gives him some alone time to think about what the Dr said. Axel is uncertain about the future and is, for the first time in a long time afraid of the outcome and afraid of losing control of himself and his anger. The last thing he would ever want is his chi to fire out and kill someone who is innocent. He is also concerned if Blaze has got home. Although Raven is his friend and a valuable asset to the team, he can be an asshole at times not knowing when to back off. But then again Blaze is more than capable of taking care of herself.

He parks the car in his space and takes out his cell phone, typing then deleting then typing.

 _New Message, 1:44am_

 _Have you arrived home yet?_

 _#phone pings#_

 _New Message: Blaze, 1:45am_

 _Yes I just got home. Who is this?_

He remembers that Blaze doesn't have his cell phone number and doesn't want to annoy her any more than he has already done tonight. Time to catch up on some sleep and deal with things in the morning.


	15. Chapter 14- The heist

**Chapter 14**

Monday morning, 10:30am. Adam, Axel and Blaze have marked themselves 'on duty outside of office' for a couple of hours and DC O'Neil is back at the office. Sunday was a slow but productive day, Adam and Keri found a house closer to the city and Keri's mother who finally got round to visiting them is looking after Sasha for the next few days while they move. She clearly gave Adam a hard time about them losing their home 'in a fire' and being cramped up in Axel's apartment. Later today, Keri and Adam will move to their new house closer to Green District but still within 45 minutes commute from the city centre. Sammy has agreed that for now, until his enemies are dead he will stay at Axel's apartment.

It was a relatively quiet day at the office yesterday and drama- free for Axel with Jess taking a few days off and Blaze avoiding him. It helps also now that Adam is back at work.

Blaze is sat outside of a coffee shop dressed very smart in black pin-striped trousers, white blouse and black heals. She is wearing heavy red lipstick, gold hooped earrings and a chain. Her dark shades conceal her face and her blond wig slicked back in a smart bun makes her the perfect fit for one of Tiger's associates.

In her long cream jacket, she has no weapons as the entrance to the bank is heavily secured and she does not want to get attention. The only things in her pocket are the syringe concealed inside a pen case and a false driver's license belonging to 'Emma Jefferson', one of Tiger's girls who sometimes attends the bank. Her black briefcase at the moment is complete with fake notes.

 _#Phone rings#_

Adam: "She's approaching the building from the car outside now. You need to be quick, ten minutes tops. We'll take care of the driver".

 _#Hangs up#_

"I'm sorry sir but you will have to move your car, your vehicle is not permitted to park here" Luca dressed as a parking attendant distracts the driver as Blaze walks into the building whilst he is forced to move the car off the busy main road to park in a quieter side street. As he pulls out his phone to text Emma his location, he notices Max sat in the back seat behind him, who wastes no time in breaking his neck and tipping over his body to look like he fell asleep.

Blaze cautiously follows Emma into the building past security. To the staff she is just a second associate that Tiger has sent. Emma proceeds to enter the large gold mirrored elevator at the side of the building to take her up to the top floor. As she fixes her hair in the mirror, the elevator stops on the second floor and to her surprise, another familiar looking associate dressed like her steps into the elevator.

Emma: "Why are you here? I was sent to the deliver the money. Report back to Tiger immediately!"

As she finishes her sentence and the elevator starts moving, Emma realises it is a trap and tries to fight back by attempting to hit Blaze with the briefcase and trying to kick her in the face. Blaze is quick to block Emma's efforts, delivering a powerful kick to her diaphragm, causing Emma to lose her breath before she is injected in the neck with the syringe.

Blaze quickly drags out the body out on the 20th floor into a storage room next to the elevator. She empties Emma's pockets to find drugs and an identity card to allow her access to the top floor of the building. She also swaps the two briefcases with the money inside before cautiously taking the elevator up to the 30th floor. Blaze checks the mirror and looks at her watch- she has five minutes to complete the job.

As she enters the top floor, she scans in the ID card which opens the glass doors.

The guard to the safe asks her to sign in, which is something she has practised forging yesterday so he lets her through without hesitation.

"How much would you like to deposit on behalf of Javier Williams, Madam?"

Blaze: "Twenty thousand dollars are in this case" and she hands it over. She scans the room leading to the safe which is a quiet, empty, shock proof part of the building with two security guards standing at the glass doors. It's a good three minutes as the safe keeper stacks piles of cash onto some scales to count the money. He proceeds to open the safe- 45159 followed by 7 stars.

Blaze, in urgent need to leave: "Thank you for your time, my connect appreciates your cooperation".

She casually leaves for the elevator back down to the ground floor anxiously looking at her watch and writing the code on a blank piece of paper. She quietly walks past security towards the exit of the building.

"Hey!" one of the security guards calls out, catching her off guard.

She turns around trying not to flinch "yes?"

He walks closer to her, grabbing her arm. "Listen, tell T to hook me up later. I have 10K with me so if he can cut me a good deal and maybe throw in some pussy with it I would be much obliged."

She smiles at him, "that can be arranged". It's a relief when he lets go of her arm and she quickly makes her way out of the building. As she passes one of the street corners, Blaze discretely hands over the piece of paper and ID card to Axel before disappearing.

Axel, Adam, Max and Raven pull over their faces black ski masks before running into the bank with their firearms. They know that the janitor has fled and tampered with the alarm system but once the staff realise this and use their cell phones or other forms of backup, they have six minutes until the police arrive. Raven and Adam shoot the two security guards at the entrance. "Everybody on the floor now! Do what we say and you won't get killed!" Adam orders. They try to keep everything under control on the ground floor where the public are. At the same time, Axel and Max take the elevator up to the 30th floor, pointing their guns at anyone who tries to stand in their way. When they arrive, the guards on the top floor try to call security when they spot the two masked men leaving the elevator.

"We will be alright, the glass is bullet proof" says one of them before Axel uses the ID card to open the doors. "Shit!"

Max shoots both guards while Axel points the gun at the member of staff guarding the safe. "Open the safe and I'll let you live".

He replies: "I can't, I'm bound to…" he shoots him in the head as they are running out of time and quickly types in the code before they empty all of the cash in $500 bills as well as gold jewellery stashed away into two large gym bags. Max: "Come on we need to get out of here!" They run down the stairs as fast as they can to meet the two other men on the ground floor. Outside, Luca pulls up and opens the back of the van he is in and the four men quickly jump in before they speed away from the scene.

They catch their breath back inside the van and remove their ski masks. Axel: "Fuck that heist felt good, we did it! Fifteen fucking million dollars plus"! The men celebrate for a moment.

Adam: "What the fuck we going to do with all this cash now?"

Axel: "We can each take a share of a million. Blaze has a British passport and Raven has a Mexican one so we can invest the rest of it abroad undetected either in the banks, charities, projects that need the funding. As long as the syndicate don't have access to this cash that's the main thing. Zan can also use some of this for his research".

Adam: "Makes sense! Luca get us back to the warehouse we need to burn these clothes then get back to the office with the police car in the next half an hour. Our radios will already be pinging at the news of the bank's armed robbery. That fucker O'Neil has no idea who is behind this and I intend for it to stay that way". 

* * *

Mr X has called an emergency meeting at one of his offices with Shiva and Tiger. He is angrier beyond words and in disbelief. "What the fuck happened to my money! Your girl should have been last one to sign in Tiger."

Tiger responds: "We've tried to reach Emma and the driver but neither are responding. I suspect they are dead. You know I wouldn't have planned this or fucked it up".

Mr X: "We will see about that once the feds on the scene brief me and examine the CCTV. In the meantime I want everyone who was in your meeting the other day brought in! Only those present knew about the account we had here including the bank manager and Attorney Cohen. It seems as if your work Tiger is getting messier by the day and you still haven't tracked down your main distro Donovan".

Tiger: "I will bring those responsible for this to you myself".

Mr X: "Eighteen kilograms of coke have also miraculously gone missing over the last three weeks. I'm losing money and I'm starting to get irritated."

Shiva: "Someone who knows our organisation well is clearly behind this."

Mr X: "Our priority is to find them and make an example of them. We also need to retrieve the USB before any more information gets out. Tiger you have three weeks to double your efforts, 50% more distribution to make up for this. And your girls can double their shifts".

Tiger: "Yes boss, leave it with me".

Mr X proceeds to light up his cigar before walking over to Tiger "if I find anything in this unfortunate incident connected to you, I will drain all of the power you have and I will make sure you suffer in the process".

Tiger: "You have my word".

Mr X: "Good. Now I need to get back to my campaign. Don't waste anymore of my time this morning."

Shiva and Tiger leave the room and walk into the main part of the club that their organisation owns. _Mercury Room_ is the syndicate's biggest source of legitimate income and is one of the most successful clubs in the city. They use this place to clean a lot of their drug money and it continues to be a popular, trendy venue that crowds flock to every night of the week. The success of this place is even known to attract celebrities and the wealthiest business people in the city. Its slick interior is made up of a downstairs and upstairs dance floor, four bars scattered around, booths and open tables, a separate strip club on the third floor at the top and two offices. A portion of the income of Mercury Room discretely goes to DC O'Neil and a handful of officers who ensure that the police turn a blind eye to any drug sales regularly made at the club that are easily accessible to find for the guests.

Both men sit down at the bar, empty at this time of morning with only alcohol distributers delivering crates to the entrance. The barman serves them each a glass of Jack Daniel's Whiskey then leaves to address the distributor and sort out the stock. Before they take a sip of their drink, Tiger empties some cocaine on the bar, leans over to snort it and then snaps back up to salute Shiva with his glass of whiskey.

Tiger: "Are you sure you don't want to try some? Its 90% pure, real Columbian shit".

Shiva: "I'll leave the coke to you for now. Any word yet on the Hunter boy?"

Tiger: "No. I sent Donavon to trace him but someone must have stepped in. Hopefully the boy has kept his mouth shut from his brother as the feds have been quiet".

Shiva: "We've agreed with O'Neil not to make a move unless a war starts, this boy's brother is a valuable asset to the police and I don't want to shake things up yet."

 _#Shiva's phone rings#_

Shiva: "Yes?... I see. Gather what you need and we will take it from there".

 _#Hangs up#_

Shiva: "It appears that your associate, Emma was ambushed and killed, dose of cyanide to be exact injected in her neck. The driver is also dead. It seems that this heist was carefully planned where they knew our movements this morning".

Tiger: "Any clues on the CCTV?"

Shiva: "That's a problem also. These were masked men with firearms that stormed the building so they had no need for CCTV or cyanide. Emma's signature was signed in at the time our cash was deposited however she never made it to the 30th floor. To get past the security at the top to open the safe they must have used a decoy. The clever fucks somehow cut out all of the CCTV in and around the building".

Shiva's phone pings with some photographic messages showing the investigation at the bank. One of the images is of Emma lying dead in the storage room. Another is the swapped briefcase which is open with fake notes and a message stuck to them saying 'fuck you'.

Tiger: "Do you think this was just a heist or something personal?"

Shiva: "Investigate all of your associates and track Donovan down if you can. I will have my men bring in everyone present at last week's bank meeting tonight. The quicker we solve this, the better. Mr X's identity can't get out so any one of those men who know his face must be killed. You focus on getting that money made back for now".

* * *

Lunchtime at the office and Adam and Axel have returned, plain clothes waiting for updates on the reported heist this morning. DC O'Neil catches them outside Adam's office "Captain Hunter, Captain Stone please can you come to my office we have some things to discuss". The pair look at each other, slightly concerned while following him back to the office. They give their obligatory salute once they enter.

O'Neil: "Boys take a seat please. Firstly I'd like to thank you Captain Stone for running this place while I was gone and attending my meetings. Our colleagues at City Hall were impressed by your professionalism and ideas and are looking forward to seeing you and Captain Hunter at the commissioner's dinner later this week. As you both know, it's been a tricky couple of days outside Wood Oak for me in attending Davidson's trial."

Adam: "What's going on with that, we've heard nothing here"

O'Neil: "Unfortunately Sam killed himself in prison, it looked like he would be facing the death penalty but I think he gave in in the end".

Both Axel and Adam seem shocked.

Axel: "Had the jury reached a verdict?"

O'Neil: "No, but it was certain he would have been found guilty. All the evidence was there however they have not closed the case yet. I'm hoping we can keep this news under wraps for the next day or so as the prosecution believed that Davidson was not working alone. Sam kept a memory stick containing classified government information regarding nuclear weapons. I suspect that he had hacked the government portal to obtain it and when his old boss DC Ramos found out, Davidson planned the attack on the Red District."

Adam: "Did you find the memory stick when his premises were searched?"

O'Neil: "Regrettably no. We searched everywhere for it including his apartment, his girlfriend's house, and his car there was nothing. He must have given the information to one of his colleagues who worked close to him. This is the whole reason why we transferred the six Red officers in the first place. Now that he is out of the picture our priority is to search each of their premises for evidence and take them in for questioning until we find that memory stick. If it gets out into the public, we could be in real danger."

Adam: "When is all this going to happen then?"

O'Neil: "Tomorrow morning. Today we have our hands full with the city heist that took place this morning, 15 million dollars' worth of cash was stolen. Our priority is to find the perpetrators as well as the money. The five Reds left will still be here tomorrow so as long as we keep this to ourselves, we shouldn't have a problem".

Both Adam and Axel know that O'Neil has a certain level of trust for them that they do not wish to jeopardise so they will go along with what he asks for now. They know he is trying to slowly pull them into the game, despite Axel's reservations and hate towards the syndicate. O'Neil can be a patient but manipulative man so it's far more effective to play him at his own game.

Adam: "What would you like us to do from tomorrow chief?"

O'Neil: "Adam you will be in charge of implementing the search warrant for the five officers here, that memory stick is our priority so whoever has it will be put on trial. Both of you can split up and lead the different search parties. Are there any questions?"

Both men salute their corrupted official before dealing with more of the updates and press surrounding the morning's heist.


	16. Chapter 15- Seven stars

**Chapter 15**

One hour until the day shift is over and Adam spots Blaze on the fifth floor returning from a duty outside. "Blaze!" He discretely calls her.

Blaze: "Hey, is everything ok?"

Adam: "Not really, they're organising a warrant on you and the other Red's anytime from tomorrow they're going to be searching your property for a government memory stick. Do you have anything back at your apartment?"

Blaze whispers back: "No, I don't recall anything like that. Let's go into the office".

As they walk into her shared office, Nadine is sat at her desk and quickly politely stands to salute her Captain. "Good to see you again Lieutenant Bilson" Adam replies.

Adam: "Your old DC Ramos gave Sam the memory stick however he either destroyed it or passed it on to a member of your old team. If you know anything or hear anything, it's important that you let me know as we need to get to this before someone else does."

Blaze: "No problem"

Adam: "Thank you Blaze, and good work this morning."

Nadine interrupts their secretive conversation smiling: "Someone is popular again today, it's not even her birthday yet!"

Blaze and Adam turn around and walk over to Blaze's desk at the other side of the room spotting a bouquet of red roses and a large box next to it.

Adam: "Take care opening that, since when did packages get delivered to your office? I don't remember you liking flowers anyway!"

Nadine: "Yeah it's really romantic but she hates receiving flowers".

Blaze reads the card.

' _Looking forward to training with you after work, hope you like the flowers. Raven'._

Blaze: "Adam it's safe, the gifts are from Raven"

Adam: "It's obvious he likes you from the other night, what's in the box? Looks like lingerie"

Blaze sighs and opens the large red box with a bow on top to find two red kick boxing gloves with her name sewn on the wrist part of them. She smiles "you would say that wouldn't you? This is actually quite sweet".

Adam: "So he's taking training with you seriously then by the looks of it! If you don't want the flowers do you mind if I give them to Keri? She loves roses."

Blaze: "Adam! Your such a cheap skate at times, next time buy her some yourself! I think I will keep my flowers as he didn't know. Were actually seeing each other today after work."

Adam laughs: "That soon huh? You crazy and he's a charmer".

Nadine interrupts the gossip: "Look he's left you another tall hot chocolate on top of your filing cabinet!"

Adam: "Damn girl! He must really like you then, let me see that". He takes the note stuck to the cup that reads _'I'm sorry x'_

Adam: "What the fuck?! I'm confused, the man is sending you all these gifts then saying sorry? Yeah that sounds like Raven what's he done this time? I can see your upset now, I know he can be a jerk at times".

Blaze: "Nothing! Raven hasn't been a jerk".

Adam: "Good. He is popular with the ladies but if he messes you around or hurts you I don't give a shit I won't hold back".

Blaze: "Adam thank you for looking out for me but its fine! You don't need to go starting any wars with him".

Nadine: "So why are you getting upset? And why is he sorry?"

Blaze: "This isn't from Raven"

Nadine: "Wait, so Raven isn't hot chocolate guy?"

Adam laughs: "Oh yeah, I heard about this in the canteen".

Blaze looks annoyed at Nadine for gossiping and gives her an answer "No, Raven is not him".

Adam: "So who is this sorry motherfucker then?"

Blaze: "You're a detective, figure it out". Feeling upset, she forces the flowers in Adam's hand and exits the office. He follows her out into the corridor finally realising what is going on. His tone of voice changes from humorous to serious. "What the fuck Blaze, he is your boss! No wonder Ax was so angry the other night when Raven took you home".

They stop by a coffee machine.

Blaze: "That's surprising as he didn't seem to give a shit when Jess called".

Adam: "Axel is many things but he's not a liar. He called me that night before the meeting saying she was in trouble and he had to help but when he says it's over he means it".

Blaze: "Sure, except like you said she keeps calling and showing up. I know he's your best friend but you forget I need you on my side too. Besides it doesn't matter now anyway and I don't care. He's my boss and I got someone to meet later. Now if you don't mind, I have work to do that you gave me today that apparently can't wait".

Without saying anymore, Adam quietly walks away.

* * *

Lingchi is a slow, painful traditional torture method used in China that many Triad gang members adopt to interrogate their hostages. It involves the cutting and removal of small chunks of flesh from the body and is a slow way to bleed out and die.

In front of Shiva, attorney Bill Cohen stands in chains next to the dead bank owner.

Shiva: "We've taken control of Central bank now so we won't be needing him anymore."

One of Shiva's gang members cuts out another piece of flesh as Cohen shouts out in agony.

Shiva: "I want to know how the details of our meeting leaked out. You are the last person we have tracked down around that table and as a result we lost 15 million dollars today. For the last time, who sent you to spy?"

Cohen cries out: "No one! I don't know what you are talking about. I make enough money do you really think I'd be behind a bank heist working for someone else?"

Two of Shiva's Yakuza associates enter the room "We have made checks on his house, car and other areas of interest but no cash was found".

Shiva turns back to his hostage and slowly walks over to him. "Looks like it's your lucky day then. Your associates are dead but you get to see another night Cohen".

The two Triads carrying out the torture unchain him and he lays down on the floor with his bare chest and back covered in blood.

Shiva: "Take him away and clean him up". He crouches down next to the attorney leader. "I know you're on Mr X's payroll but if any of this gets out or if I find that you betrayed us in any way thinkable, next time your wife and son will be chained up here alongside you".

Shiva orders the men to take him away before communicating with the two Yakuza members in Japanese.

Shiva: "This better be good".

Two more men bring in the scientist who was the last person present at the meeting.

Shiva pushes him against the wall "who do you work for?!"

The scientist stays silent before Shiva shouts the same question again in Japanese to him.

Shiva: "If he won't talk, you know what to do". He passes over to one of the men two knives before they start cutting. Each time they take a piece of flesh out, they shout out "who?" but the scientist stays silent and is loyal to Dr Zan. It takes hours for him to bleed to death but he gives away nothing.

Shiva: "Examine his phone, any call towers that he used nearby over the last week, his labs, his home. I won't give up until we find who he is working for". Knowing that the scientist will stay silent, Shiva leaves the room to meditate for the day.

* * *

6pm at the office and many of the night shift staff are arriving. Axel enters Adam's office handing over a folder. "These are the files for Sammy, the department are not wasting any time trying to track down Tiger, and someone is protecting him and trying to prevent a war with us".

Adam: "Thank you for dealing with this we can find him ourselves".

Axel: "We need to hold another meeting tonight after work, Zan just called- we have a bigger problem".

Adam: "What happened?"

Axel: "They've caught his agent and most likely have killed him. Zan assured me that he wouldn't talk but we can't be so sure. If this traces back to us they'll be a full scale war on our hands".

Adam: "Ok, I'll message the team"

Axel: "Where the fuck is Blaze?"

Adam: "Blaze finished for the day and has gone with Raven to train for the rest of the night"

Axel: "Train? What for?"

Adam: "You didn't hear about earlier, he sent her a box of red kickboxing gloves and flowers to her office".

Axel: "Well our guys at the door need to stop letting personal packages through it's against the rules. You should have taken the stuff away. What does he think were running a dating site?"

Adam: "I'm sure when they've finished training they'll attend the meeting".

Axel: "They know that what we're organising is urgent so they better get their priorities straight. If they want to act stupid with flowers and gifts, good luck to them".

Adam: "You're the one acting stupid".

Axel turns around, pissed off: "What did you say?"

Adam: "I know what's going on with you, why you are angry"

Axel: "Adam shut the fuck up before I say something I regret".

Adam: "Whatever is going on it needs to stop. I'm telling you as your friend and as your partner I'm starting to see your anger flare up. We both know what happens when you lose it".

Axel: "I can assure you I am dealing with it and I don't care. I thought Blaze was smarter than this but it's up to her if she wants to make the stupid decision in getting personally involved with a member of our team."

Adam: "That's rich coming from you isn't it? Just keep clear of her, it's clouding your judgement and causing tension. Whatever bond you two have, it needs to stop! We're taking a lot of risks especially over the next few weeks. Any syndicate member or Yamato warrior would class you both as living weapons."

Axel: "That's all under wraps, only the Dr and Max are aware"

Adam: "Yes but you need to accept that we are all risking our lives here. Any of us are likely to be killed, even Blaze, not to mention that she is leaving in six weeks if she does survive. The moment you get too close there is no going back and if you lose her, you will go off the rails, your chi will get out and then were all fucked when the syndicate find out."

Axel: "Ok, you have my word. No risks".

Adam: "Good. The last thing I want is you taking your eye off the ball. I will arrange the meeting tonight, 9pm at Max's gym".

* * *

"Jesus you throw quite a punch Blaze! For someone who has never done kick boxing before you are great!" Raven complements her in the middle of their training session.

Blaze stops to hold the punch bag, and even though she has clearly had a good workout, she still has more energy to train "what next then coach?"

Raven smiles: "Let's try the ring".

The two of them have a sip of water, Blaze readjusts her braided hair before attaching her mouth guard.

Raven: "Don't you want this?" He throws over a soft padded helmet towards her.

Blaze: "You weren't wearing one of these the other night, I don't think I need it"

Raven: "I refuse to hit a pretty face"

Blaze: "Try me"

Raven: "Your call"

As he attempts to throw a jab towards her head she is quick to block and retaliates with a kick to the stomach.

Raven: "Good! Your kicks need some work though they're not powerful enough".

Concentrating, both of them quickly exchange attempted jabs and blocks before Blaze delivers a powerful kick and a sweep of the legs sending Raven to the ground.

Raven catches his breath back: "Better kick but sweeping is against the rules!"

Blaze: "This is why you should learn Judo. It's not restricted like this". She puts back in her mouth guard and gives him a hand, helping him up. As soon as he is back up she fires more jabs towards Raven's arms and face nonstop. He can see she is a skilled fighter and definitely faster than him. He notices Max watching from one of the offices, keen to see what she can do.

Raven: "I'm going easy on you here but you're good!"

Max starts laughing at the fact that Raven is getting his ass kicked by a novice even though he is trying his best to block her efforts, Blaze is too fast for him. This is very intimidating and quite embarrassing for a prospective kick boxing champion. The punches and kicks that follow get thrown around faster and faster along with the blocks. Raven eventually loses his patience and puts an end to the rally when he throws one final punch hitting Blaze in the ribs and knocking her to the floor.

Raven: "Oh my God I'm so sorry, are you ok?" He helps her up off the floor as she is holding onto the left side of her ribs.

Blaze: "Yeah I think so. Its ok really, I've thrown enough punches your way worse than this!"

Raven: "Yes but I do this every day. Here let me see to that".

Max brings over an ice bucket and cloth to the ring as Raven lifts her sports top to examine the dark purple wound on her left side "the bruising should subside within five days, here keep putting ice on it. Coach can you get me some more?" Max heads back to the office to get another bucket.

Blaze: "I'll be ok, really I've had worse!" He puts his arm around her waist and helps her out of the ring before she removes her gloves to sit down.

Raven: "I'm sorry Blaze, I'll send you the whole flower store if I have to tomorrow".

Blaze smiles: "It's ok really I'll be fine! You don't need to keep buying me gifts you know". He leans forward and kisses her. "Next time let's stick to judo or dancing then". They share another, longer kiss as he gets closer and puts his arms around her.

Blaze stops him from going any further.

Raven: "What's wrong?"

Blaze: "Nothing. I gotta go and get changed and showered for the meeting later. I'll meet you back here after ok?"

Raven: "Sure thing. I'll catch up with you later".

* * *

9pm and all except Zan are sat around the table at Max's gym. Max: "Where's Professor Gilbert?"

Axel: "Earlier today one of his scientists was caught and we suspect killed by the syndicate. They must have realised that he was present at their bank meeting. If you have any messages that you need to pass on to Zan please take it through me as he is now in hiding. His scientist didn't know much about us but if he did talk, Zan's life is at a huge risk."

Max: "I understand. I'm guessing this is why you called the emergency meeting."

Adam: "There's one other thing. DC O'Neil is looking for a government memory stick and has assigned us to search for it. Lieutenant Sam Davidson, who they believed DC Ramos gave the information to, was awaiting trial in protective custody for the attacks on the police department. His body was found yesterday morning after hanging himself at the prison".

Blaze feels shocked knowing her old colleague is dead.

Blaze: "Sam was a devout catholic, his girlfriend and child meant everything to him. I know he was in prison but I know he would never have committed suicide, especially before the verdict".

Axel: "Precisely what we thought. We believe that O'Neil was behind his death after Sam kept the location of the memory stick hidden. There was no point in his trial taking place, he wasn't behind the attacks although we think that the first attack at Red District may have been an inside job".

Blaze: "Ramos trusted Sam, I know he was innocent".

Adam: "So our next priority is to find that memory stick before O'Neil or anyone else does".

Sammy: "What could be on it?"

Axel: "We don't know but it's something really important for them to go through all this trouble to find it".

Adam: "O'Neil will keep pinning this onto Ramos' team until he finds answers. He has search warrants on all of the Red District transfers, requesting us to question and charge them."

Blaze: "Shit, what do I do? Go and scan my apartment, you'll find nothing there".

Adam: "That's not the point. He will make sure your set up until you can give any information regarding the USB's whereabouts".

Axel: "Stay away from your apartment and don't come into work over the next few days. Adam, Sammy and I will clean out anything tonight that they may have planted already".

Blaze: "Be my guest". She throws over her keys.

Adam: "You may need to leave town for the next few days but we are sending you and the rest of the team to track down this memory stick. Start with any associates that your old boss was connected to. Luca has some information also on his accounts the month before he died".

Raven: "My men have a safe house that you can stay at in the meantime when you need to get out of site".

Blaze: "Ok, I will find that memory stick as soon as I can. Any news on my transfer?"

Adam: "Yes, it's sorted. We can use it as an excuse for you not being present at work when O'Neil tries to find you."

Blaze: "Thanks…" She starts coughing and holding her ribs.

Sammy: "Are you ok?"

Raven takes Blaze's hand and looks at her in the eye before she has the chance to respond.

Blaze: "Yeah I'm fine. I just need to go and lie down and get out of here, do you mind?"

Adam: "Sure that's fine. I'll pick up some stuff and clothes you'll be needing for the next few days when we get to your apartment."

Blaze gets up to leave with Raven, unsure at what the future holds for her. It is a dangerous time with her old colleague dead and she knows that she has no choice than to find the missing information in exchange for her life. Axel glances at her while she leaves knowing that it may be a while until he sees her again but would rather know she is safe, even if it is with Raven.

* * *

The drive outside of Wood Oak is at least three hours long on open road into the country. The windows of Raven's car are open and the night air is fresh. The city is long gone and as Blaze looks up at the sky, the stars glisten and it dawns on her how small the world really is.

Raven: "My friend who I am taking you to is a Coyotaje and he is the best when it comes to hiding people. You will be safe there until this is fixed. I'm sure Adam will cover for you if he tells O'Neil you accepted your new job and moved on quickly".

Blaze: "Somehow I think either way this is the end of my career with the police and it's not my fault!"

Raven: "Your bosses will expose O'Neil once we have that memory stick. All you've worked for will still be there".

Blaze smiles as she looks out towards the night sky.

Blaze: "So is Raven your real name?"

Raven laughs: "No it's my street name and my fighting name. I was actually born as Julio Eduardo Sanchez. How did you get your name then?"

Blaze: "My mother told me that the night I was born I was very ill and they didn't think I would make it. Her and her family were very spiritual, they believed in astrological signs and mediumship. So that night she looked up to the stars and prayed for me to live. Her gaze was fixed on a seven star cluster known as Pleiades M45. She believed that this was a sign that I would be ok despite the doctors telling her otherwise. Those stars were brighter that night with a Blazing blue that usually the naked eye can't see but she swore that on that night she could see they were brighter than ever. So she named me Blaze".

Blaze continues to watch the stars for the rest of the journey with anticipation but reassurance that she will be safe and that she must survive this.


	17. Chapter 16- On the run

**Chapter 16**

Three days have past and Adam has heard nothing from Blaze. As far as O'Neil is concerned, she has fled Wood Oak City possibly back to London. When he questioned his two Captains regarding her absence, they mentioned the new job she was offered and had no suspicion that she was hiding. They understand that they can't go along with this excuse forever and sooner or later O'Neil will realise that Blaze has not transferred office.

O'Neil sits down across the table from Axel and Adam in his office "still no word back yet from Lieutenant Fielding then?"

Adam: "No. As soon as I hear any news of her transfer you will be the first to know. She must be long gone back to England but her employer has not yet seen her as she isn't due to start for another four weeks".

O'Neil: "Any findings in her apartment?"

Axel: "No, everything seemed normal".

O'Neil: "We have questioned, suspended and searched all of the other Red's who stay silent. I know they are covering someone's back. We may have to find alternative ways in getting them to talk. All fingers point to Fielding for the attacks who was clearly smart enough to leave before we had the chance to question her".

Adam: "At least let's wait until we get hold of her and also the search is still on for this memory stick. How do you know that Ramos didn't take it back from Davidson before the attack? Or didn't destroy it?"

O'Neil: "Just keep searching and we will find the memory stick and Lieutenant Fielding. In the meantime I still need updates on the heist so get back to work".

The two officers give their salute before leaving the office.

O'Neil: "Oh and Adam I need to speak with you when your shift is finished. Meet me at Rosa's restaurant on Acorn Avenue after work".

Axel: "He's getting suspicious now and impatient. We need to find it fast, any news from Blaze?"

Adam: "No nothing, her cell phone is out of service. I sent some clothes with Raven yesterday, he has gone back to the safe house to visit her to make sure she is ok. I've asked him for an update and have given him a new cell phone to pass onto Blaze".

Axel: "I'm sure once they have tracked this thing down we will hear something. In the meantime keep a low profile, do what O'Neil requests. Max and the others will find it sooner or later." 

* * *

Blaze has been staying with Raven's cousin Amelia for the last three days coming and going looking for answers from anyone connected to Ramos. Amelia is a kind soul who doesn't ask questions but knows why Blaze is here.

There is a knock on Blaze's bedroom door.

Blaze: "Come in"

Amelia: "Good afternoon chicka, I thought you'd be hungry so I picked up some Burritos."

Blaze: "Thank you, I know you've been good to me the last couple of days I really appreciate it".

Amelia smiles: "Your welcome kiddo. I bet they don't make Burritos like this back in England!"

Blaze: "No way! They are amazing here!"

Amelia: "They're not bad, but you have to go to Mexico to find the best ones. I hope you find what you're looking for, sometimes when you can't find the answers you have to go back to the source".

This gives Blaze an idea of what she can do next.

Blaze: "Thank you Amelia!".

Amelia: "Anything you need, let me know. I can see why my cousin likes you, finally he's with someone who ain't no puta. You can put me down as maid of honour in return" she winks.

Blaze smiles feeling slightly embarrassed.

Amelia: "Oh and speaking of which, Raven called earlier asking if you would meet him at 4pm by the church. He has some more clothes and supplies for you he said it's safe there. Do you want a lift?"

Blaze: "That's ok, I can walk there".

* * *

4pm and Blaze is sat outside the quiet church overlooking the dusty empty highway. She knows that they have fled South about 600km from Wood Oak City as the climate here is much hotter and drier with no sign of city life intact.

A Pasteur comes out of the church to greet Blaze. "Good afternoon, would you like to come into the church for some water and to pray with us?"

Blaze: "Thank you but I'm not a Christian or religious"

The Pasteur replies: "It's ok, we may be different but we are all children of God and you are welcome here. Raven is inside also".

Blaze smiles, "ok thank you" before she follows him inside.

Raven is sat on one of the benches facing the alter. "Blaze, come and pray with me". She notices some cuts and bruises to his face.

Blaze: "What happened to you? Did you have any fights or did someone purposely hurt you?"

Raven: "Blaze I'm not supposed to be here". He gives her a kiss on the lips.

Blaze: "What do you mean?"

Raven: "Part of Max's deal with the Aguilas was that I don't step foot into any of their territory ever again".

Blaze: "But I thought they were in Mexico? Shit, we need to get you cleaned up."

Raven: "No, I'll be ok. I out ran them and they took my car with the bags inside".

Blaze: "Don't worry it's just clothes in there I can always get more. The main thing is you're ok, let's go back to Amelia's and we will get you cleaned up".

Raven: "No! I don't want you or my cousin involved, these men are dangerous."

Blaze: "I can fix this. I won't take no for an answer plus you don't have a car to get back."

They leave the church, walking along the quiet road until they find a diner.

Raven: "The only thing that saved me was this". He pulls out a knife from his pocket. They walk up to a car before he takes off his shirt, wrapping it around his fist.

Raven: "Stand back". With ease he punches and breaks the glass next to one of the back seats before reaching in the car to unlock the door.

Raven: "The good thing about these old cars is there is no alarm. Get in!"

Within half a minute Blaze hot wires the car and then they are good to go.

Raven: "No, we're not going back to Amelia I can't put her in danger. Take the next left on the highway were going to the Cayotajie I told you about".

An hour later they reach an old derelict looking house in an empty street off the highway.

Raven: "Follow me and don't say anything to them".

Raven knocks at the door where a short stocky man answers, scanning both Raven and Blaze.

Raven: "I need to speak with Phillipe". As they enter the house all the blinds are drawn and it is a dark place with ripped furniture and wallpaper. Blaze suspects it is some sort of drug den with all the boxes and needles lying around.

Phillipe is a young man in his mid 20s with a serpent tattoo on one side of his neck. Blaze doesn't understand Spanish but she is guessing that Raven is asking him for a place to stay for the night.

After their short conversation Phillipe responds in English: "You can use the back room upstairs and I will arrange a car for you tomorrow Julio. The girl can stay here as long as she doesn't get in the way of any of our deals."

Phillipe turns to face Blaze "puedes cocinar guapa?" She glances over to Raven worryingly.

Raven: "No, she doesn't speak Spanish"

Phillipe laughs: "That's a shame, she could pass as a Puerto Rican beauty with that long dark hair".

Supporting a fake smile, Blaze follows Raven up the stairs to the back room.

The room is bear with an old empty mattress on the blank floor, a scratched wooden dressing table and some old nets hung up next to a broken window creating a breeze. Blaze scans the bear walls and surroundings then sees outside another church in the distance and a small grocery store. There are barely any houses around, just a couple scattered in the distance.

Blaze: "Heard from Adam yet? Has anyone found it?"

Raven: "No but he's working on it"

Blaze: "I need to contact him where's your cell phone?"

Raven: "No, it's not safe. Those men drove off with my bag containing my phone".

Blaze: "Shit! There must be a payphone opposite that store across the road I have to get hold of him".

Raven: "No! Blaze we need to stay here, it's not safe! O'Neil has started to get suspicious and Adam's phone could be tapped. I can't risk you being taken away until we find what we need". He puts his arms around her waist.

Raven: "Listen I'm only here for the night, Phillipe is sorting out a car for me tomorrow morning but you will be safe here and I will come back for you. Until then we might as well make the most of the time we have together alone here". He starts to kiss her neck.

Blaze reacts, pushing him away "I got stuff to do, sitting around here isn't going to help".

Raven feeling disappointed replies: "ok your call. I need to talk to Phillipe about tomorrow morning I will be back upstairs soon. Stay here and don't go anywhere". He gives her a kiss before closing the bedroom door leaving her alone to watch the hours tick by.

* * *

At the back of Rosa's restaurant, DC O Neil is sat in plain clothes next to Marcus Wu who is also Shiva's trusted adviser.

O'Neil: "If anyone can track the information down its Adam Hunter".

Marcus: "Let's see what he has to offer. Maybe if we spare his brother's life he will cooperate".

O'Neil: "No Adam doesn't work like that. We need to gain his trust and convince him we are doing this for a good cause. Once he is on our side it will make it easier to convince his partner".

Adam walks in to the restaurant and the two men stand up as he approaches the table.

O'Neil enthusiastically says: "Please meet one of my most senior officers and the best detective on our team, Adam Hunter". Marcus extends his hand.

O'Neil: "Adam this is Marcus Wu, he is a lawyer working for the government and I have often worked with him behind the scenes of many cases we have bought to court."

Marcus: "It's a pleasure to finally meet you Adam, your boss here has mentioned many good things about you".

O'Neil: "Adam has been the longest serving member of my team ever since he was a cadet" he smiles.

Marcus: "True dedication. I like it! Now you're probably wondering why you are here."

Adam: "I'm guessing it is to do with the governmental case we are working on."

Marcus: "The reason why we are searching for this memory stick is it contains classified information to do with the creation of nuclear weapons and the power that goes into them. This information is clearly in the wrong hands right now and whoever has it is capable of creating destruction and chaos on a global scale. We need to find it fast".

Adam: "We are doing everything we can to find it".

Marcus: "I know and we appreciate your help. I just wanted to let you know this in person and how important it is for us to find this information before it is copied or leaked."

O'Neil: "There is one other matter we need to discuss".

Adam appropriately replies: "Fire away".

Marcus: "One of my clients, Javier Williams is campaigning for senate and council leader. It is going to be a busy couple of weeks for him and his team and as you are aware, the funds supporting his campaign were stolen on Monday in a heist. It has meant that we have had to cut corners on the campaign and cancel our private security hired. I am asking you and your team to assist us in this matter. You will be paid well and will be recognised by our government".

Adam: "That's all well and good but you will have to speak to my partner Agent Stone. He is the security expert for big events and is more use".

O'Neil: "Maybe you can have a word with him in the meantime before we see you at the commissioner's dinner tomorrow night?"

Adam: "Sure, no problem". He smiles, giving O'Neil what he has aimed to achieve this evening.

The three men salute their glasses before discussing the details further.

* * *

Blaze has been counting the number of chimes on the church bell, realising that it must now be 9pm. The room has cooled down a little and it is dark outside, the only light shining in is from the street lights below and the local store plus any cars that rarely pass by. The light bulb is empty so she has to sit in darkness. Blaze notices two cars pulling up outside the house. It looks like a delivery from one of the drug distributers. A tall man in a dark leather jacket, slicked black ponytail steps out of the car and is accompanied by four other men. This is either about to get messy or is something more than just a drug deal.

She hears Phillipe opening the door downstairs to let them in. It's hard to hear anything as the walls are thick so Blaze quietly opens the door from the bedroom and walks down the stairs towards the landing by the kitchen where she can hear voices coming from the closed front room.

Phillipe: "Please, Master Shiva can I get you something to drink? I know you have travelled a long way". Blaze scans the landing- it's either run back upstairs quietly or hide in the toilet.

Shiva: "No, that won't be necessary. Have your men found the information yet?"

Phillipe: "No but we're close. Raven here has searched high and low. It is either outside the country or has been destroyed. The fedarales in Mexico are also looking for it".

Shiva: "I know, sooner or later we will have answers but we need to try harder. I can't stress the importance of this". He pulls out a suitcase with a $500,000 inside. He hands over $10,000 of it to Phillipe.

Shiva: "Phillipe, if your men find it first this is just the start of what I can give you. With this money you will never have to stay in a shit hole like this again and I will personally make sure you move up in the rankings of our organisation".

Phillipe: "We will find it I assure you".

Shiva: "And as for you Raven, I heard about your fight the other night. He had nothing on you but many of our other Triad fighters are tough opponents. With your cooperation you will never have to look at an empty trophy shelf again. We could really use a fighter like you and you have a lot of talent. At least think about my offer".

Raven smiles, shaking his hand. "I will get you the memory stick but it involves me going somewhere where I am unauthorised to be. If you can promise me protection when I get there we have a deal."

Shiva: "Of course, whatever you need. My men will meet you at dawn outside of the service station due East a mile from here".

Raven: "In order for this to work, they must think I'm alone as I am wanted by them".

Shiva: "Ok, I'll have my men follow you keeping a safe distance until you get to your destination. In the meantime take this $10,000 and these firearms in case you need to do any negotiating."

Raven: "It's easier than that. I will offer them my life, your drugs and they will hand it over without a war. Then I expect your men to step in".

Shiva: "Good. I'm glad we cleared this up, you have my word. Mr X needs a fighter like you on our side as a war is coming".

The men shake hands before leaving the room. Blaze, in shock and unsure of Raven has quietly gone back up the stairs, trying to get a better view of the men, their car and the weapons they have. She is uncertain as to what Raven's purpose is. Is he about to betray everyone by working with the syndicate or has Adam sent him undercover to ambush them on purpose? Time is running out and she needs to know.

Ten minutes later, Raven returns up the stairs to find Blaze sitting on the mattress.

Raven: "Here, I got us some pillows and a sheet". He hands them over.

Blaze: "What did Phillipe say about the car?"

Raven: "He's left it outside already. I will leave to go back to Wood Oak in the morning". He takes off his shirt "I just need to use the bathroom next door, give me a minute". He leaves the room to take a shower in the bathroom next door.

Blaze hears him talking on a phone but can't make out what he is saying due to the water. It was only a couple of hours earlier that he mentioned his phone was stolen. Something is clearly going on but she is not certain of what.

Raven returns "hey, look I'm sorry about earlier beautiful. I'll make sure Phillipe picks up some clothes for you tomorrow and I will come back for you I promise".

Blaze: "Let's get some sleep it's going to be a long journey back for you". He holds her, "I know we haven't known each other for long but I want you to trust me. I will come back for you and everything I'm doing will keep you safe".

Blaze: "I know, I trust you". They lay down on the mattress together in the dark room.

Raven: "We don't have to… you know, if you don't want to".

Blaze reaches over to kiss him passionately looking into his eyes whispering "No, I want to. I trust you Raven".

* * *

2am and Raven is fast asleep. Blaze grabs her clothes off the floor on top of Raven's jeans to get dressed, trying not to wake him. She removes the knife he showed her from his jeans and quietly walks down the stairs across the hall to where Phillipe is having a drink with two other men.

He notices her walking towards the kitchen "shouldn't you be fast asleep guapa?"

Blaze, only wearing a long chequered shirt right now over her underwear looks at him "can I get a glass of water?"

Phillipe laughs and nudges his colleague who is falling asleep "you know, I've never fucked an Australian woman. Go and get her some water" he laughs. Blaze knows he is stupid if he can't distinguish what is Australian and what is British.

The man takes her to the dark kitchen.

"We have tequila also if…"

Before he has finished his sentence Blaze has slit his throat with the knife. She quickly searches his back pocket to find a loaded hand gun before returning to the front room.

Blaze: "Get up! Slowly". She shoots Phillipe's other colleague before he has the chance to turn around.

Phillipe stands up.

Blaze: "Without opening that bag, throw it over here". He follows her orders. Within seconds, Raven runs down the stairs after hearing the gun shot and before he has the chance to make it to the front room, Blaze shoots Phillipe in the head.

Raven: "What the fuck is going on?"

Blaze starts crying, acting shaken up: "He put his hands on me, I had no choice!"

Raven: "Blaze, give me the gun and the bag. I'm not an idiot". She quietly points the gun at Raven "I'm not an idiot either Raven I know what you are doing. Put your hands behind your head".

He refuses to listen.

Blaze shouts: "I said put your fucking hands up! Now!"

Raven charges forward as she pulls the trigger but there is nothing but an empty click. She reaches for the bag with the firearms but he is quick to push her over, hitting her across the face. It is a struggle and both fight one another, kicking and punching. He is stronger but Blaze is faster. Raven spots his knife and reaches for it as he pins Blaze down on the floor.

"Why are you making me do this Blaze?" She struggles to break free, breathing fast as he starts to press the knife against her throat. She looks into his eyes and with a deep breath as the blood starts to draw, she emits a force of blue energy from both of her hands, throwing Raven off of her and knocking him against the wall. Raven is bleeding now and badly burnt along his chest, realising what this power is. He looks up at her and laughs as she takes out another gun from the bag.

Raven: "What you going to do, kill me? The blood from your hands is all over that gun! It's a pity Blaze because I really did like you plus I thought that I got one up on Axel. I'm sure him and your colleagues back at HQ will put you away for killing me when they see that all you are is a fugitive who has this power, the same power to fire up all those nukes."

Blaze: "Put your hands behind your head and get the fuck up off the floor before I shoot you. This time it's loaded!"

He slowly starts to get up. "You're wanted by the feds, you're wanted now by the syndicate who will drain your power who are working with the feds. There's no way out for you my love you have nowhere to go".

She silences him with another pulse of energy, knocking him out cold.

Feeling breathless and bleeding, the first thing Blaze does is grab the bottle of tequila, knocking it back and pouring some of the alcohol over her wounded hands. She then checks Raven's pulse making sure he is still alive and ties him up with his hands behind his back and masking tape over his mouth. She takes the keys to Phillipe's car along with the money and the bag of firearms. It's a struggle to lift Raven into the trunk but she eventually gets there, making sure he is still alive.

* * *

4am and Blaze has left that part of town off the highway. She has cautiously driven past a police car that is probably on its way back to the property. That town is too deserted and quiet to have any other trouble. She understands that she has to move fast as dawn is in an hour and Shiva's men will be at the property looking for Raven. Not having eaten for the last fourteen hours, she stops at a diner just opening off the highway, taking the bag out of the passenger side and locking the car.

Blaze knocks on the window "Are you serving yet?" she calls from outside.

The woman inside responds: "We have coffee and toast at the moment before the main delivery, give me five minutes". Blaze hates coffee but could use the energy boost "that's fine".

She notices a pay phone and pulls out some spare change she has in her jeans trying to call Zan as she knows he will be awake.

Blaze: "Professor it's me, I'm in trouble I can't explain right now but I need your help fast."

Zan: "Ok Luca is with me what do you need?"

Blaze: "I need you to track down the phone number for Don Melendez. He is someone that use to work with DC Ramos who I met back at Red District. Tell him I am headed towards the Mexican border. I have no ID and I'm wanted by the feds. If he can meet me in eight hours at 12 noon on this side of the border with his men, I have something for him in return for the memory stick".

Zan: "Ok I will call you back in five minutes, stay by the payphone".

 _#Hangs up#_

Blaze cautiously observes the trunk of the car knowing that Raven must still be asleep. Before paying the waitress, she looks into the bag to find the $10,000 that was given to Phillipe last night".

Blaze: "I only got $50 notes, I'm sorry."

Waitress: "I'm ever so sorry honey I don't have enough change. Please don't worry its only toast and coffee".

Blaze: "I'll tell you what, take this $100 from me and if anyone comes asking for me, tell them you've seen me and send them the other way".

The waitress happily thanks her "here, take some croissants with you too and some water for your journey".

Blaze: "Thank you".

 _#Payphone rings#_

Blaze: "Hello?"

Zan: "Canyon Lake is five miles from the Mexican border. Luca has tracked your location and your right, you are eight hours drive away. Melendez and his men will cross the border to meet you there at noon. I think they know where the memory stick is but you will have to take that risk. How did you know?"

Blaze: "I'll tell you when I'm back. I have to go".

 _#Hangs up#_


	18. Chapter 17- Kill the raven

**Chapter 17**

Shiva examines the two dead bodies on the floor of the house. He is accompanied by three of his men including Big Ben.

Big Ben: "He took all the firearms with him".

Shiva: "Raven knows that he can't escape from a whole organisation like ours, he has no protection from the feds, no power at all and he is wanted by the Aguilas, a rival cartel."

Shiva reaches for his cell phone.

Amelia: "Hello?"

Shiva: "My dear I have bad news. Your cousin Julio is missing, we think that the Aguilas found him in their territory, have you seen or heard anything?"

Amelia: "Who is this?"

Shiva: "Someone who knows where your son goes to school, where your husband works at the post office and where you sleep at night in your pretty pink silk dress. I need to know where he is so I can save him. Raven works for us now".

Amelia feeling shaken up responds: "I don't know, he left yesterday to meet his girl at the church".

Shiva: "What is her name?"

Amelia: "Jenny, he told me her name was Jenny. He mentioned something about a safe house that's all I know I swear!"

Shiva: "And what does Jenny look like?"

Amelia: "She's tall, 5ft 7 or 8, long brown hair and she has an English accent."

Shiva: "If you hear from Jenny or your cousin, make sure you call me back. I would hate to turn up unannounced".

 _#Hangs up#_

Shiva: "If she is lying, send someone round to kill her."

Ben: "Boss check this out! This wasn't here last night".

Shiva examines the stained blooded wall. "Only two bullets were fired which killed Phillipe and the other man, the other body was left in the kitchen. Raven didn't have the balls or the muscle to back away from our deal, that blood must be his".

Ben: "Do you think the Aguilas got to him first".

Shiva: "The Aguilas would have taken him alive and the girl, so possibly."

Next to the blood Shiva notices some black marks on the wall. "That's strange, a fire would have burnt the whole wall and there are no electric cables or switches on this side of the room. Ben check the power supply".

Ben: "Phillipe disconnected all of the power weeks ago as a precaution. This house is derelict and only used as a drugs den".

Shiva: "So there is no chance of any electrics catching fire?"

Ben: "Hell no".

Shiva: "Those marked dents in the wall have been caused by sparks. Someone here has the same power as I have, look". He holds his hand in front of the wall to create the same mark with a small flash. The spark slowly cools on the wall to leave a small dent and a black mark.

Ben: "Do you think the Aguilas have the same power as you?"

Shiva laughs: "No, they would have used it against me a long time ago if they had". He touches the wall where Blaze's chi left the mark and he closes his eyes. "This energy was powerful and intense. Raven wasn't capable of this he would be a much better fighter if he was. Gather the rest of your fighters and any bikers you have nearby, we have to find the girl".

* * *

Only 100 miles to go now and Blaze is racing down the highway. She can hear kicking coming from the trunk but she increases the volume on the radio to block out the noise. _'Welcome to the hotel California'_ plays as Blaze sings along. She shouts knowing Raven can hear her "I turned this one up just for you Raven. I know how much you love the Eagles". Referring to the Aguilas.

Blaze looks through the mirror, "shit!"

A police car flashes her and orders her to stop. The officer approaches the window "Madam can I see your identification please?"

Blaze: "I'm sorry sir I don't have any". He hears banging in the trunk of the car.

"Please can you step out of the vehicle I'm going to have to inspect this car and arrest you for speeding and driving without…" One roundhouse kick to the head does it and he was knocked out cold. She quickly pulls his body back into the police car, breaks his radio, locks the doors and throws away the keys as well as his cell phone into the deserted land off the road before speeding away. This part of the highway has nothing around for miles so it will be a while before anyone finds him.

* * *

Blaze parks the car at the top of a hill overlooking a beautiful view of the calm and clear waters of Canyon Lake. It has been an incredibly long drive and tiredness is starting to take its toll. A man in a suit approaches her window "Don Melendez asked me to meet you."

Blaze: "Where is he? I need to see him in person."

"Please step out of the car, he will be here in a moment". Another two men walk over. "Mind if we search?"

Blaze: "Sure. All the guns I have are in that black bag. You can take it along with the money". She lifts up her arms while one of them searches. "She's clean".

Don Melendez steps out of another car, a silver Rolls Royce and walks up to Blaze with more of his men. "Professor Gilbert said you had a gift for me. Let's sit down and talk". The two of them walk over to a bench shaded under the trees.

Blaze: "You don't remember me do you?"

Melendez: "You worked for my colleague Ramos. He was in and out the game but I respected him".

Blaze: "Yes but that's not what I'm talking about".

Melendez: "I know he trusted you and was going to give you a copy of this". He pulls out the memory stick. "This is the original and the only one of its kind left. Your Red District colleague had a copy but Ramos told him to destroy it after he viewed the information. He also asked me to destroy it but I knew it would be useful".

Blaze: "I need it. DC O'Neil is framing me, he killed Ramos and he killed my colleague. O'Neil and the syndicate will kill us both if they know you have this. They are doing everything they can to find this information".

Melendez: "I see. But what I don't understand my dear is how did you know I would have this?"

Blaze turns around to see eight of his Aguila men holding their guns ready to shoot if she tries to take the memory stick.

Blaze: "My family cartel saved your life, not once but twice then they died for it".

Melendez laughs: "You're a fed, I can tell. Probably someone working for MI5 or Interpol trying to set me up".

Blaze: "Petrov Ali, my uncle killed Mr X's right hand man saving you from torture and death. You're the only Don left that he would have trusted and I know that Ramos trusted you more than the police."

Melendez: "Your uncle Petrov has been dead for over 20 years. He saved me because he couldn't access anymore drugs from the Turks and the Russians over here. My product was the only viable option".

Blaze: "I have one of your wanted men who escaped from Mexico. I have drugs, firearms, money, police protection this side of the border, anything you need. Kill me and the syndicate will find you and this information. They have enough power to wipe out your organisation. Let me live, hand over the memory stick and my men and I will wipe them out and you walk away hassle free with no competitors".

Melendez: "How can you be so sure you have enough against them?"

Blaze shows him the cut on her hand. "I'm trusting you with this knowledge".

He nods and passes over the memory stick to her. "If they catch you they drain your power and wipe us all out eventually. Do what you need to do but I want guarantee that my men and I walk out of here freely with access over the territories this side of the border."

Blaze: "Done".

Melendez: "You are a good negotiator like your uncle" he smiles handing over the USB device.

Blaze: "This is the number for Adam Hunter, my colleague. If you need any territory or feds in your pocket this side of the border call this number and say to him Blaze told you about seven stars. He will understand."

Melendez nods: "Good luck my dear. I hope you succeed".

They get up to leave and walk towards the car.

Blaze: "Before I forget, here is something to seal our deal".

She opens the trunk of the car to reveal Raven tied up and bleeding.

Melendez: "Julio! Finally we meet again" he laughs "after all this time you're coming home with us to Mexico. Maybe we can pay your mother a visit before you die huh?"

Blaze leans over the trunk showing Raven the memory stick in her hand "its ok, he knows my secret. But luckily for me, these men are going to make sure you never talk again". She waves the memory stick in front of his face and remarks "I win Raven" before they shut the trunk again.

Blaze hands over the keys to Melendez.

Melendez: "Here, take my car. I will leave in one of the other cars, your British so you must love a Rolls Royce".

Blaze smiles and shakes his hand "thank you".

Melendez: "I will remember our arrangement. But more so, any family of Mr Ali is always a friend and I owe him my life. Stay safe Blaze".

* * *

Big Ben returns back to the drug den two hours later.

Shiva: "Have you found Raven and the girl?"

Big Ben: "No. My men are scattered all over searching but we have found the next best thing".

He hands over a bag containing clothes and a passport.

Big Ben: "Raven was attacked yesterday by some men on this side of the boarder who are loyal to the Aguilas. We raided one of their drug houses and found this bag belonging to him with his ID inside also carrying hers. It looks like they were on the way out fleeing the country together possibly."

Shiva examines the passport with Blaze's photo and name saying 'Jennifer Richards'.

Shiva: "This has to be a fake, it's too new, no stamps and they have chosen a common name so that we waste time trying to track her down. At least we know what she looks like, send this photo to your bikers and anyone working with us from here to the border. And I want her back here alive".

Shiva looks at the passport in detail "Jenny, whoever you are, you could be the answer to all of our problems".

* * *

Blaze uses some of the cash she had left to stop at a motel on the way back to Wood Oak for a couple of hours in order to get some sleep, shower and to buy a change of clothes from a local shop. This time she picks up a simple black top, a new pair of blue jeans and a short black leather jacket plus she ties her hair back into a bun so that no one can notice its length. After some rest, she drives back out onto the highway, using the opportunity to pick up some chicken and fries to eat as well as some needed pain killers from the drug store. Her hands under her gloves have been hurting all day and her rib injury where Raven punched her is starting to ache more and more after their fight.

Blaze: "Could I please use your phone?"

The lady at the counter in the drugs store responds: "Yes but make it quick".

Blaze: "Thanks".

Its 5pm already and Wood Oak is still at least another six hours away.

Blaze: "Professor, it's me we need to talk. I have it!"

Zan: "I'm not in my lab at the moment you will have to call one of the others next to a computer that can trace where you are".

Blaze: "Can't you go back? It's urgent, I'm scared I won't make it back".

Zan: "You have about an hour left before any internet café around will start closing, by the time I get back it will be too late. The commissioner's dinner doesn't start for another couple of hours so your best bet is to call Adam or Axel".

Blaze looks over to the lady by the counter "please may I have a pen and paper". She quickly jots down their cell phone numbers before hanging up. "Do you know where I can find an internet café?"

The lady who is now getting irritated responds: "I get it, you're a tourist here. But I ain't no tour guide!"

Blaze: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. Thank you for letting me use the phone".

The lady feeling guilty responds: "look I'm sorry, it's been a tough day. The next town five miles north of here has one next to the service station. You will have to be quick as they close at six".

Blaze: "Thank you!"

Half an hour later Blaze reaches the internet café. It is quiet and empty with only one man on the door. "$5 for 15 minutes then we're closing up". She hands over some change.

Blaze: "If I give you $20, can you let me use your phone for ten minutes?"

"Sure" he replies handing it over.

Blaze tries three times to call Adam but he is not answering "come on Adam, pick up please". She has no choice than to give in and call the second number belonging to Axel.

Axel: "Who is this?"

Blaze: "It's me, the line is bad and I don't have much time!"

Axel: "Blaze! Are you ok? We've been worried sick, we've heard nothing from Raven"

Blaze: "I'm ok right now, I'll explain when I get back. Listen I found it! I found the memory stick but I'm in trouble and I'm scared someone is going to find me and take it".

Axel: "wait one moment" he types away at his laptop and is able to track where she is from his appartment.

Axel: "Your 600 miles due South of Wood Oak right now. Find any computer and I will give you the instructions".

Blaze: "I'm right next to one now!"

Axel: "Good! I'm logged on also. I need you to quickly upload the contents of the USB in my account and I will be able to access it. Here is my login and password…. " He spends a minute giving Blaze phonetics as she logs in.

Blaze: "Ok I'm in, it's going to take at least a couple of minutes to upload. What should I do with the memory stick after?"

Axel: "Destroy it only if you get caught. I will send Max to meet you on route back before you get to Wood Oak tonight, you need to get out of there and get back here safely. Is Raven not with you?"

Blaze: "No, I'm alone right now. And no way Max is not meeting me, I don't trust him! I have a car and I will make my own way back- if I'm not back in six hours, you know I'm dead".

Axel: "I will meet you at the warehouse around midnight. I can leave the event tonight early as Adam will be there".

Blaze notices some bikers pulling up outside of the internet café talking to the owner.

Blaze: "Shit!"

Axel: "What's wrong?"

Blaze: "They're here, they're outside!"

Axel: "Close the monitor save what you can, destroy the USB and get out of there!"

She can see it says 85% but moving slowly.

Blaze: "It's almost uploaded! Shit this thing is slow!"

Axel: "Get out now!"

She closes the monitor and hides under one of the desks with the phone in one hand.

Blaze whispers: "I'm under a desk but I can't see the upload".

Axel quietly counts the transfer: 90%, 91%, 92%…. Whilst the men inspect the premises. They are really close now to finding her… 100%. Blaze quickly pulls the USB stick out of the hard drive under the desk and pulls out the power supply to the computer. She slowly gets up from under the desk with her hands up, crushing the USB under her shoe and leaving the phone on the floor under the desk.

Blaze: "Please don't shoot!"

One of the bikers responds: "That's her!"

Blaze: "I'm sorry I have no idea what you are talking about."

The biker responds "Gale go and cuff her, were taking her back to the den".

Blaze talking slightly louder replies: "What did you say? Was Shiva looking for me? Are you taking me back to the drug den near Barnville church?"

Gale walks over to her with a gun to cuff Blaze's hands. She quickly reacts, breaking his arm in a second and taking the gun from him. She grabs him and holds the gun to Gale's head "walk away or I will shoot" she says to the other men. She forces Gale to the back of the store further away from them. They take their chance and aim for Blaze but they miss, shooting Gale instead. She pushes him down, shooting back at them before running down a flight of stairs that lead to a fire escape. Blaze runs as fast as possible towards the service station next door, looking for a way out. The six men left storm into the service station a couple of moments later, realising where she has tried to escape to. They shoot both of the cashiers and fire at all the rows of food and drink in the building in case she is hiding. The men cautiously inspect the rest of the building including the office at the back and the toilets.

"Look! Outside!" Shouts one of the men. He sees that Blaze has poured a canister of petrol at the entrance to station. "She must have escaped through the back or she never entered the station in the first place". Before he has the chance to run outside, she emits a ray of energy from her hands towards the fuel on the ground and then runs in the other direction. The blast sends Blaze crashing onto the floor then second after second, the eight fuel gages at the station explode one after another destroying all of the cars around including her own and all of the syndicate motorbikes parked outside. No one in the building could have survived this.

Blaze starts to hear sirens and she knows she has to get out of here fast. Her right ankle is in a lot of pain and her jeans are ripped with blood stains but she has to move of sight.

* * *

It feels like hours before she reaches another highway after crossing empty land in the dark. The benefit of this at least is that the syndicate can't find her. This is open road and she could be anywhere. She is hoping that the files transferred as the information on the USB will never be recovered but right now, getting home is priority. She looks up to the sky but there is no sign of her lucky stars tonight. Blaze takes a risk that pays off when she reaches the next highway, hitchhiking a ride with a middle aged truck driver.

"Where can I take you sweetheart?"

Blaze: "I need to get as close as possible to Wood Oak, North of here". He opens the door to his truck to let her in.

It's a silent and exhausting drive for Blaze and the man can see she is injured.

"What happened to you? Those wounds on your leg look painful, why don't I fix that for you". He places his hand on her leg. Blaze smiles as she pulls out the gun she stole earlier. "Give me your cell phone". Without hesitation, the man hands the phone over.

Blaze: "Now stop on the side of the road and get out". He follows her orders and replies "the nearest town is 15km away, how will I get home?"

Blaze: "That's not my problem".

She moves over to the driver's side, closes the door and drives away at full speed.

* * *

 _#Phone rings#_

Mr X: "Well, did you track it down?"

Shiva: "Raven mentioned that he knew where it was, somewhere in Mexico. The Aguilas deny having any involvement in this matter. All I need is your permission and I will end Don Melendez and his men."

Mr X: "No. The time will come but now we don't have the funds or men for a full scale war. We will get Raven to steal it back from them first".

Shiva: "I don't even know if Raven is alive. He was with a girl who we are trying to find, fake ID known and Jennifer Richards. She might have the answers".

Mr X: "I have to finish getting ready for dinner. Keep searching for Raven and the girl, we will exchange his life for the information once we track them down."

Shiva, not letting on that he suspects more, "Ok boss. Enjoy dinner"

 _#Hangs up#_

 _#Phone rings#_

Shiva: "What is it now?... Fuck! How many men did we lose?..."

He loses it slamming his phone and breaking it into pieces on the floor.


	19. Chapter 18- City Hall night

**Chapter 18**

Adam and Axel are looking sharp and more handsome than ever in their black tux's ready to arrive at the commissioner's annual dinner. Keri is also with them as Adam's plus one looking radiant in a beautiful long purple gown. The three of them step inside the glass elevator of City Hall.

Keri: "So where is your plus one Ax? I knew that crack addict would give up. Besides looking like that I'm sure the ladies will be flocking over by the end of the night".

Adam: "Stop embarrassing him!"

Keri: "Can't a girl give him a complement?"

Axel: "Thanks Keri but I'm here for business".

Keri: "And that my friend is your biggest problem!"

The three of them step out of the elevator into a golden room with red carpet, paintings on the walls and chandeliers.

Keri: "See you boys at the dinner table later". She walks over to the 'plus one' group having canapes at the bar, a much better idea that talking about police and government matters with district officials.

Adam: "So did you take a look at the files?"

Axel: "Yes briefly, everything is there with some interesting stuff we need to examine. It's not just about the nukes and that information wasn't ever made by the government, it was only stored by them".

Adam: "Shit! Were lucky Blaze and Raven tracked it down".

Axel: "No, Blaze was alone when she uploaded the files. We'll talk about this later back at the warehouse. After tonight Zan and Luca can examine the files".

City Chief Clark spots the pair and approaches them.

Chief Clark: "Good to see you Captain Stone" he extends his arm for a handshake. "Captain Hunter, it's good to see you again after a long time."

Adam extends his arm so they shake hands.

Clark: "I'm sorry I can't help but get straight to the point. We have something to discuss before dinner, its important".

The three men smile and greet O'Neil and his associates including Bill Cohen who is standing a couple of feet away.

Clark: "Axel can I have a minute?"

Axel: "Sure". He signals to Adam that all is ok and Adam leaves to go and talk to O'Neil.

Clark: "That government USB that O'Neil has sent you to find, it's false. It doesn't belong to the government it belongs to the syndicate. Your DC is working with the syndicate and trying to drag you both in with him."

Axel: "What do you mean, who here is part of the syndicate?"

Clark: "I don't know who the leader is but the attorneys have made some rash decisions and their pockets are growing. O'Neil spends a lot of time with them. One of my men also witnessed him murdering Lieutenant Sam Davidson. His motive was to get to the USB but he did not succeed".

Axel looks him in the eye: "Why are you telling me all of this?"

Clark: "O'Neil has agreed with the syndicate that if he protects them, he will be able to transform the entire force and he has been promised my position. My life, DC Bailey's and our families are in great danger right now. It's only a matter of time before they wipe out any officers who disagree with their objectives. They have already murdered the city mayor."

They pause and smile as a couple of senior officers walk past.

Axel: "I'm aware that O'Neil killed Sam, he wasn't the type to commit suicide and he didn't have it in him to plan the attacks on our departments."

Clark: "Their aim is to drag all of us into this criminal organisation. You only have to look at your partner Hunter over there. That man he is talking to next to O'Neil is Marcus Wu, a syndicate lawyer."

Axel: "Adam is not stupid, he knows what he is doing."

Clark: "All I ask is when you and Adam find that information, don't pass it on to O'Neil. I'm not asking for it either, no good can come out of it. Either destroy it or hide it away. You will see why for yourself".

Axel: "Do you know what's on there then?"

Clark: "Ramos and I worked together to track it down before he was murdered by O'Neil. Luckily he entrusted his Lieutenant Davidson with the information and told him to make a copy then have the original delivered to Mexico where the syndicate have no stronghold. After it was successfully delivered, I gave Sam the order to destroy the copy. If you want it, you know where to find it".

Axel: "And why are you trusting me with what you know?"

Clark: "I know your background and I know what they did to your parents. You will never be one of them. If the syndicate get to me, no one else knows this information or is capable of finding it. I'm telling you because I know you will find it and you will make the right decision".

Axel: "If I get hold of it and I mean if, I have something I need you to do".

Clark: "Name your price".

Axel: "I'm not talking money. One of my officers has been falsely accused and framed for possessing it. O'Neil and the syndicate are on her case and I don't know if she is even still alive after going in search of the USB."

Clark: "O'Neil has the attorneys on his side so he will frame her even if you try and trade it in for your officer's life. There's only one thing you can do".

Their conversation is interrupted by someone announcing dinner in ten minutes.

Axel walks away contemplating whether he should tell Clark or not about finding the memory stick.

"Champagne sir?" A waiter walks by with a tray of glasses. Axel takes one and starts walking back to the bar to find Keri and Adam. As he gets closer, he feels all of the energy in the room blur and the voices of the guests fading in the background. One tall man in a black suit looks Axel in the eye blankly whilst walking past- Javier Williams. That second feels like minutes and clearly his presence is unnerving.

Keri: "Axel are you ok?" her voice brings him back down to Earth as he has now reached the bar.

Axel: "Yeah, sorry. Where's Adam?"

Keri: "He's just over there, let's go and see him. Only ten minutes until dinner so no matter how bad the conversation gets, it will be over before you know it!" Axel decides to keep an eye on Williams as they walk who is now on the other side of the hall.

O'Neil: "Mrs Hunter, good of you to join us!"

Keri: "Actually I'm still Miss…."

O'Neil rudely interrupts: "Axel this is Marcus Wu, he will be working with us on behalf of the government".

Marcus extends his hand but Axel rudely gestures with a nod back.

Axel: "You're either brave or foolish. When I last checked, we stopped clearing police matters with interfering politicians and attorneys".

Marcus laughs: "We must all work together, two organisations are better than one. We recognise that cops like yourself risk their lives every day to catch the criminals in this city".

Axel: "Your right, its dangerous grounds we walk over. That's why we are so grateful to have attorneys and politicians like yourself that handle the bureaucracy bullshit. Hope the paycheque is worth it!"

Marcus: "Great to meet you, Lieutenant Stone".

Axel smiles: "Captain".

Embarrassingly, Marcus walks away.

O'Neil: "I know you don't like politicians getting involved in our operations, I don't either but this is necessary".

Axel: "Just stating the obvious".

O'Neil: "You are one of the best officers on my team, please don't go pissing off the government".

The crowd in the hall make their way to the next room where they are seated for dinner. Usually Adam and Axel are on the same table as they are equally ranked.

O'Neil calls Axel: "You're on our table tonight Captain. The officials from City Hall requested it after they met you. See, you can get along with politicians" he smiles.

The table at the centre of the room also consists of familiar faces including Chief Clark, DC Bailey, Bill Cohen as well as elected senators and their plus ones.

Adam: "You better get to that table I think your seat is next to DC Bailey's. You're sat with the big boys now, good luck".

A five course banquet is served starting with duck pate. The food is delicious, a bit on the minimal side but the wine is flowing and conversations are heating up around the table regarding politics.

The lady sitting next to Axel tries to reach for the bottle of wine but ends up knocking over one of his knives. "I'm so sorry, you can take my knife if you like".

Axel: "No problem, here allow me". He reaches for the bottle and fills up her glass "I never liked duck pate anyway".

The lady responds: "Well hopefully the next four courses will have a bit more on the plate!" She quietly remarks. Her accent is part American with a Swedish twist.

It looks like the lady is a plus one of one of the senators who is sitting on the other side of the table. She has long blond hair in a backless blue diamante dress. She has the style and look of a 1960s pin up model. He extends his hand to shake hers "Axel Stone, Wood Oak Police Department". She smiles "Electra Davies. My husband across the table is transport minister. Personally I can't think of anything more boring than he is discussing right now, that's why I'm sat here next to you. I knew you couldn't have been a politician."

Axel: "And how did you conclude that then?"

Electra: "You were using the wrong knife for your pate, this one is the bread knife" they both laugh.

The rest of the dinner goes smoothly and the pair have decent conversation whilst Axel has one eye on Javier Williams who is sat with the other councillors on the next table.

It reaches 10pm and the speeches are still underway. "We now have a special thank you for someone in the room tonight" the host announces.

"This man has not only employed and educated some of the most underprivileged members of Wood Oak, making them part of his businesses but he has just signed over and invested $11 million towards the funding of new centres for martial arts, gyms and sports grounds. Places where the youth of today can go to when they need support or guidance. He has also used part of the money to build a new centre for Red District Police Department which is now part of Central Department so that we can make our city a safer place. Furthermore, he continues to invest much of his time and funds into medical research. Please raise your glasses to toast and thank, Mr Javier Williams".

Mr X stands to address the room. "Thank you, I wasn't expecting this but I am humbled by your support. Aside from campaigns and everything to do with them, I do this every day because I love Wood Oak City. I know that we can thrive and the most important people that can make that happen are sitting in this room tonight. Please come over, talk to me if you have any ideas or input and I would be happy to listen and add your feedback to my campaign. Let's raise our glasses and make a toast together to our hard work and for making Wood Oak City a better place". The room raises their glasses and applauds.

Desert arrives shortly after, a beautiful delicate chocolate mousse with raspberry coulis- the best course of the night whilst the tables start to disperse into another hall at the back for some more drinks and some serious business talk.

Electra: "That's my cue to leave now, looks like your work is not finished for the night. Too bad". O'Neil signals for Axel to join him and the other senior officials in the next room.

Axel: "Enjoy the rest of your night Electra".

Electra: "These things go until the early hours of the morning. My husband probably won't return tonight. It's been good talking to you". She takes his hand to say goodbye, leaving a folded piece of paper with her number inside before walking away.

Adam walks over: "Do we really have to go in there now?"

Axel: "You know how it is".

Adam: "Who was that hot blond that gave you her number?"

Axel: "Electra Davies, she's Minister Goldberg's wife".

Adam: "What that old motherfucker? Apart from her syndicate pimps she's probably desperate for some d checking out the men in here but her husband definitely has more money. Are you going to call her then?" he jokes.

Axel: "She's not my type".

Adam: "Right! I forgot that these days you're into brunettes".

Axel: "Fuck you Adam, I gave you my word on that so it's never going to happen. I don't even know if she made it back here yet my phone has no messages and even if Blaze did escape, she's happy being with Raven so I'm not going to get in the way."

Adam: "Ok I'm sorry man! Come on let's go and show our faces before we bounce".

Axel looks at his watch: 11:43pm knowing that if Blaze escaped, she is almost here.

Axel: "I got to go for an hour or so".

Adam: "What's wrong?"

Axel: "I'm expecting a delivery from Mexico. I need you to stay and keep an eye on Williams". Adam knows what that means.

Adam: "Ok, can you take Keri home then on the way?"

Axel: "Yeah of course. By the way you're doing well, don't give in if they offer you a drink". Axel glances down at Adam's orange juice.

* * *

Axel reaches the warehouse to find that the lights are on and someone is in the back room. As he walks in he spots Blaze sitting next to Luca and Zan staring at the laptop.

Axel: "Blaze! Are you ok? I've been worried all night".

Her response is more hostile.

Blaze: "Have you even seen this yet?" referring to the uploaded files on his account.

Axel: "You're logged into my account"

Blaze: "You gave me the password! Come and check this out". The four of them inspect the files.

Luca: "These files are not made by the government, what do you think?"

Axel: "That folder there consists of files illustrating nuclear weapons, the materials needed, quantities and how to build and operate them. Fairly government standard however the second folder is something different. Zan have you had a look?"

Zan: "No we haven't examined this one yet, what is it?" seeing a look of concern on Axel's face.

Axel: "That folder contains documents of the experiments Dr Glover carried out in the 90s on subjects containing extraordinary energy."

Zan turns to Luca: "Open it!"

Blaze: "Are you sure you want to see this?"

Luca hesitates before Zan commands "I said open it!"

He scrolls down past a few subjects until he reaches the file titled 'Professor Gilbert, Electricity'. The file contains much of Zan's personal information, an old photograph, key dates in his life as well as all of the experiments carried out on his brain that disabled many of his human traits and replaced them with cyborg mechanisms. All of it is a shock for Zan to read from a scientific point of view and he realises how much damage they did to his body and mind to turn him into a killing machine. He also finds future plans that were never carried out after he escaped.

Zan gets up to walk outside the room "would you give me a minute please". He is clearly shocked and saddened by what he has just seen and leaves the room wanting to be alone.

Luca: "They were going to convert him into full cyborg, controlling him and using his chi".

Blaze: "I should never have opened this".

Axel turns to Luca, "hey could you give us a minute?"

Luca: "sure, do you want me to call the others down to look at this?"

Axel: "Yeah we need a meeting urgently". Luca leaves to grab a coffee and to send out a message to the rest of the team.

Axel sits where Luca was and closes the laptop.

Blaze: "What are you doing? We're not finished!"

Axel: "Give me your hand".

Blaze looks down to see blood soaking through the wrapped material around one of her hands. It's clear that she is wounded and has done a lot of fighting to get back here.

Axel: "Take this". He pulls out a bottle of whiskey from the draw and hands it over before he unwraps the bandage revealing a deep red mark. She downs a couple of drops as he applies the ointment into her palm. It is agonising and Blaze can't help but shout out "Jesus! That's worse than last time".

Axel: "The cut is deeper, you used more chi". He repeats the same on the other hand and says "you need to learn how to control this. What happened when you had to use it?"

Blaze: "Those men that came with the guns, they followed me towards a service station. I waited outside when they entered it and they shot everyone. I poured out all the petrol I could and set the building alight with my chi and the whole lot exploded. I had to also protect myself against…"

Before she has the chance to finish Zan and Luca return.

Luca: "Lets finish analysing this, the others are on their way and we will need to brief them. I still can't get hold of Raven, has he called you Blaze?"

Blaze: "No".

Axel changes the bandages and the four of them carry on examining the files as they find the last folder.

Axel: "wait what's that? I didn't look at this earlier." The folder is covered in an image containing seven blue stars.

Zan: "The Messier 45 constellation, we call this Subaru in Japan".

Axel clicks open the folder. It seems useless as it is full of images instead of the government documentation like the other two folders.

Luca: "What the hell is this? They look like some sort of ancient cult". He observes black and white photos of a Japanese ninjutsu warrior holding a Samurai wearing a horned helmet.

Zan: "That is the Yamato. They were the first warriors on Earth to discover inner chi, they are one with the Universe's energy. They have no name, no location. Their only purpose is to preserve their sacred chi. For centuries these ancient warriors tried to teach men this power, only to have it turned against them. From thousands of Yamato soldiers, only three remain today."

Blaze feels slightly unnerved but tries to hide it remarking "this is bullshit!"

Axel: "One of them was my ninjutsu master Akihiro when I was a kid, its real. We always knew he was a supernatural force but despite his brothers disagreeing, he decided to open a school teaching ten boys. It was a lifetime of solitude and the other masters condemned the school after six years so I was sent back to my parents shortly before they closed it."

Zan: "Today few of us are able to access this chi. It is said that our ancestors were the most powerful humans that the ancient warriors taught and their chi passed down the blood line often skipping generations."

Axel: "The Yamato aren't human and can't procreate but they possess the greatest chi. One warrior can split himself into three more during a fight."

Luca: "I'm assuming that, with this mix of information on here the syndicate stole each file piece by piece and used this simple USB as a backup. What's with the photos of the stars?"

Zan: "The fact that the syndicate are using this symbol means they have the support of the Yamato. These warriors believed that their power originated from these seven blue stars, the M45 constellation part of the bull in the sky which is where their horns on the helmet come from."

Axel: "All of these files have one thing in common- a gateway to power. Only the first folder belonged to the government".

Luca: "This must not get out ever. We need to destroy it".

Zan: "Destroying it won't stop their ambition for power. At least we have some background and motive for how they are planning to use it. After all this time, I must leave for Japan to speak to them".

Axel: "You saw what the syndicate tried to do to Blaze we can't risk you getting caught after so many years. We need you here".

Zan: "There will come a day you too will have to reach out to your old master."

Axel: "And until that day our priorities are here. Javier Williams is weeks away from being elected, O'Neil is ready to murder more innocent officers who stand in their way. Believe me, this is going nowhere. I'm asking you to stay and trust me, I know what I need to do when we get to that bridge".

Blaze and Luca look up towards Zan in agreement with Axel.

Zan: "I hope you are right, or we are all dead".

Another car pulls up outside of the warehouse and Adam, Sammy and Max arrive. They each say their hellos and give Blaze a hug with the relief knowing that she is ok. They know why they are here and what the meeting is about. They can see the bandages on Blaze's hand and the fact that she has had a rough couple of days.

Adam is the last person to hug Blaze, giving her a kiss on the forehead "well done seniorita I knew you would find it".

Blaze gives him a smile "what is it with you and Axel tonight? You two look like you have just attended prom".

Adam laughs as she is referring to his smart tux "I think a prom would have been more interesting. We just sat down for five hours at the commissioner's dinner".

Axel interrupts: "Javier Williams, O'Neil, Marcus Wu, they were all there".

Blaze: "What about Shiva? Is he not usually with them?"

Axel looks at her suspiciously "no, why?"

Blaze: "No reason."

Over the next hour, the team sit down and are briefed on the files and their contents and what it means for the syndicate's future plans. They also take the opportunities to discuss strategies and what they can do next to prevent this information getting out and to buy some time.

Zan: "We need to track down their labs first".

Axel: "I agree, whilst we continue to steal their funding. At least we know where to go from here and how to get to them".

Adam: "All of their syndicate operatives need to be targeted first before we can get to Mr X. He is well protected. They are still after this information, now that we have it the next matter to deal with is O'Neil."

Axel: "Leave that with me".

Max: "We need to destroy the files! What happened to the original USB?" He turns to Blaze.

Blaze, who has been silent for the past hour finally speaks out. "I destroyed it when the syndicate came looking for it but I managed to upload all of it to Axel's account in time".

Axel: "Somehow they managed to track down Blaze who was at an internet café, maybe the owner was working for them".

Adam: "So how did you do it? Did you travel to Mexico?"

Blaze: "No, I figured it out and someone gave it to me before the syndicate found out."

Max: "Was it Raven? Where is he, I'm worried he hasn't called since he left to find you. Did he reach you?"

Blaze: "Yes, he took me to a safe house after I was staying with his cousin".

Max: "Where is he now then?"

Blaze pauses: "He's dead".

Max: "What?!" The room are in shock after hearing the news as Raven had been working with them for over three years.

Sammy: "Are you sure?"

Blaze nods.

Max: "How can he be dead? I know he was in unauthorised territory but no one knew he was coming".

Blaze: "Raven was not who you thought he was".

Max, feeling perplexed responds: "So what the fuck happened to him? I don't believe this, we need to go and find him and the men who done this. I knew she was trouble!"

Blaze starts to laugh: "Me? Trouble? Wow and there I was thinking you boys were more intelligent than that and you trusted him?"

Max stands up in front of Blaze who is sat down with her arms crossed on the other side of the table. "I'll ask you one more time, what the fuck happened to Raven?"

Blaze looks him in the eye: "I fed him to the eagles after I met Don Melendez who handed over the USB".

Max cannot believe what he just heard "you traded his life for this?! Do you have any idea what the Aguilas will do to him? He was their blood brother!"

Blaze: "He betrayed us".

In a split second Max loses it, throwing over the table in front of them and storming over towards Blaze to put his hands around her neck. Before he has the chance to reach, catching her off guard Axel steps in front of him.

Max: "Get the fuck out of my way, she killed him!"

Blaze gets up and shouts back at him behind Axel "I told you, he betrayed us!"

Max: "You don't know shit, you've been here five minutes and we've lost one of our men". He tries to charge forward but Axel stops him.

Max: "I told you to get out of my way!"

Axel illuminates a flame from one of his hands, looking Max in the eye "don't make me do this".

There is a lengthy silence before he backs away.

Max: "What are you protecting her? She led Raven on then had him killed!"

Blaze: "I did what I had to do! Raven made a deal with Shiva, I heard it all. He was going to hand over the information with the syndicate's protection from the Aguilas but I stopped him. He knew where this was all along he just needed an excuse and the protection to get it!"

Max: "No, you're wrong Raven wouldn't do this! The whole reason he left the Aguilas was because of their crimes, murdering women and children, trading drugs left right and centre he wanted out!"

Blaze lifts her shirt to reveal her bruised ribs "you witnessed this, go ahead and tell me your star fighter would never do this on purpose".

Zan: "that looks serious, how did you manage to get around with a fractured rib? That needs to be treated now".

Blaze: "The worst part was him crushing me and holding a knife to my throat" she points to the small cut on her neck. "I had no choice other than use my chi to break free. Now you know too! He witnessed it and I couldn't let him live he would have easily handed me over to the syndicate. I knocked him out and took his body in the trunk to Melendez".

Max: "Yeah that's right, Melendez wouldn't have given up that USB to anyone you know! Don't think I didn't know about you already Fielding".

Adam: "Stop arguing both of you!"

Max continues: "I checked her out a long time ago when I dealt with that shit. Her drug cartel family worked with Melendez, of course he traded over the USB to her!"

Blaze: "Don't you dare go bringing my family into this, you don't know shit".

Max: "I know a lot about you. I know about your power, I know you lost your old post in England because of your depressed state and sleeping disorders".

Blaze: "Shut the fuck up".

Max, still angry: "What you going to do? Release your anger on me, come on I want to see what power you got! Were the biggest criminals in the city afraid of you and this power of yours? Is that why they left you behind and shipped you off to boarding school?"

There is a lengthy pause and the tension in the room can be cut with a knife. Blaze is fired up now and wants to release her anger on Max. No one knows what to expect and Axel and Adam are in the middle but instead she takes a deep breath out, turns around and walks away out of the warehouse.

Max realises that he has overstepped the mark but he is still upset about his friend and doesn't trust a word she says.

Adam: "Max I know you're angry but you didn't have to say that shit". Adam walks away outside to go and find Blaze.

Max turns to the others: "There's something not right with her, I want her out!"

Axel: "You forget that's not your call"

Max: "Fine. I will do what you want, I will work with her but mark my words if I find she has lied to us or is behind any of this, next time you won't be there to stop me."

Max sits back down and has a drink to get his head around his friend's death and what Blaze is claiming.

Outside the warehouse Adam finds Blaze sitting on a large crate.

Adam: "Max can be bitter but he will realise and will come around, he's just upset. Raven was like a brother to him".

Blaze: "I can't do this anymore Adam, I don't want this life. He's right, my family left me behind for that very reason and I have battled with it ever since".

Adam reaches over to give Blaze a long hug as she tries to fight off the tears.

Blaze: "I'm done, you got the information you needed you guys can take it from there".

Adam: "We need you".

Blaze: "I've lost everything- my job, my home I'm a fugitive according to the police and now the syndicate are probably still after me. I need to start over".

Adam: "Where will you go?"

Blaze: "Honestly I don't know".

They turn around to find Axel standing nearby "I remember you saying you had my back and I made you a promise that we would avenge every last one of them together. Why are you giving up?"

Blaze: "It's not that easy, you don't understand."

Axel: "Understand what? That you battle with your power every day? That they took everything away from you and you have nothing left? That the thought of your own existence turning into something that will wipe out thousands if not millions of innocent people? Tell me something Blaze that I already don't understand! I'm not giving up."

Blaze looks at him and Adam for a moment, hesitating to answer. "Every time I fall asleep I see it".

Adam: "What do you dream?"

Blaze: "The future. Everything is going to change, not just the way of life in this city. People will suffer, you will suffer because of me".

Adam: "Blaze everything is going to be ok, we will fight them".

Blaze: "No it won't be ok. When I try to open my eyes to wake up, I physically can't move. I look up and all I can feel is a Yamato warrior with hands around my neck draining my energy and I'm terrified that I won't wake up to see another day".

Axel: "Zan and I will teach you how to control that but you gotta trust us Blaze. If you run away from this, nothing is going to change except we will be one fighter down, the syndicate, the feds they will all be after you and we won't be able to help you".

Blaze: "What about Max? He doesn't trust me so why should any of them?"

Axel: "I'll deal with Max, he understands that Raven was no saint and yes he did lots for the team but the fact that he tried to kill you and the rest means he betrayed us. We can prove all this as soon as we find Shiva."

Blaze looks up at them. "Ok, so what now? What about my job, my home?"

Adam: "Come with us now"

He walks over to a white van parked outside of the warehouse and opens the door.

Blaze: "Where are we going?"

Axel: "Were getting your life back".

He pulls out his phone to make a call.

"Clark, it's me… I'm going to need that favour".


	20. Chapter 19- Sweet vengeance

**Chapter 19**

3am and Mr X returns home from the commissioner's dinner which appeared to be a successful night for his campaign. His home is his office in a highly secure building overlooking Wood Oak forest and river just outside of the city centre. He resides on the top floor of the building, the floors below are made up of syndicate offices and conference rooms so the building is always busy. A car drops him off by the front entrance and he quickly enters the building towards his private elevator, passing a female concierge.

She comments: "Good morning Mr X, is there anything you need?"

Mr X: "Send up a bottle of whiskey to my quarters and tonight Lisa can join me". He smiles

The concierge replies: "Of course sir, they will be up in five minutes".

He proceeds into the elevator.

 _#phone rings#_

Shiva: "Bad news, some of our bikers died in an explosion at Barnville service station".

Mr X: "And what about the USB?"

Shiva: "They tracked it down, Raven must have found it on this side of the border but we suspect the woman he was with stole it and is probably half way across the world or back in Mexico by now. The USB however is destroyed."

Mr X: "Surely your men can track her down at the airports".

Shiva: "She is using fake ID but I have a photo. We've tried to match it to records but she is not part of any known organisation. Jennifer Richards has a British accent".

Mr X: "She may have taken it back to Europe to sell the information or have it leaked. I will see what I can do. Even if the USB is destroyed, our scientists are still making steady progress. Our powers do not stretch that far so make sure you cooperate with our European colleagues."  
Shiva: "I'd like to travel home to Japan a few days. The Yamato can give us some answers about the information we seek".

Mr X: "Do what you need to do first but I can't have any more slip ups after tonight."

 _#Hangs up#_

He looks outside his panoramic windows displaying the beautiful skyline of Wood Oak City below knowing that it is only a matter of time until he takes leadership and control of all of it and nothing is about to stand in the way.

* * *

The last 24 hours have been a rollercoaster for Blaze who knows that it is not over yet. 3am now and she is fighting to stay awake in the van knowing that there is one last fight left tonight. The roads leading to the financial district are quiet and empty but as soon as they reach the buzzing centre, the shops, casinos and clubs are in full swing.

Adam parks the van in one of the side streets and hands over a gun to Blaze who is sat in between him and Axel.

Adam: "Take this as a precaution" he gives her a silencer.

The three officers have arrived at Candybells- a popular strip bar amongst many politicians and senior officers on the police force.

Blaze: "How do I get in with this?"

Adam: "Next to the bar there is a Chinese restaurant on the other side. Pass through the kitchens out at the back and you will find an outside stairwell leading to the roof of the bar. The fire exit up on the roof will be shut but here is the security code to open it from the outside." He hands her a piece of paper.

Axel also briefs her "Once you are in the building, make your way to the office on the top floor labelled 6.2 and I will meet you up there".

Blaze: "Where are you guys going to be?"

Adam: "I will be here in the van on standby waiting for you to get out. Axel will make his way through the main entrance".

Axel: "Let's move".

Blaze pulls out her black leather jacket and puts on her gloves. She tucks the gun into the back of her jeans and heads out of the van towards the restaurant. Axel is still in some of his smart clothes but now only in his white shirt and trousers. He walks casually in the other direction towards the entrance of the club.

The busy entrance to the Chinese noodle house is perfect as Blaze disappears through the unorganised crowd waiting for their take outs. She swiftly walks through the restaurant and down some flights of stairs towards the kitchens. "Sorry I was just getting some air" she says as she passes a handful of chefs frantically working on their stir fries in the hot kitchen. Without them even glancing her way, she exits the premises to find a small alleyway closed off from the main street full of trash cans and cigarette butts. The other building next to the alley way is the club where she can hear the bass of the music flaring out. She climbs on top of one of the large trash cans and reaches for the ladder leading to an outside stairwell a few metres above. Blaze climbs up and quietly makes her way towards the roof of the building.

Meanwhile outside of the club the bouncer greets Axel knowing that he is a senior officer. "It's been a while Stone, how are things these days?"

Axel: "Things are good at the moment, you know times have been hard back at the office but we always get by". The bouncer nods, allowing Axel to enter the club. The small bar is dark with blue lighting but Axel recognises the faces of many of the officers from all three districts who like to hang out here after duty. Also some of the politicians who attended the commissioner's dinner have flocked to this bar from their post commissioner's dinner meeting. The venue is like a high class haven for exclusive guests, far away from the police department and government office environments. Axel spots DC Bailey sitting by the bar in front of two poles.

DC Bailey: "He's here in one of the private rooms on the third floor. I will get someone to escort you there." He signals to the barman.

Axel: "All is ready, we have someone upstairs in the office. Tell Clark after this he can start sorting out that favour I wanted".

DC Bailey: "Once this matter is dealt with he will".

One of the strippers, a blond lady dressed in a gold bikini top and red hot pants walks over to the bar.

DC Bailey: "This is Sandra. She will take you upstairs".

Axel smiles and puts his arm around her as they walk together through the crowded, noisy dance floor past many of the officers on his team and those who know him from the other districts. They salute and acknowledge Axel as the pair casually walk by enjoying the party heading towards the elevator. A couple of other officers pass by the elevator with escorts around them. Sandra takes Axel's hand and leads him out into the third floor past many of the regular rooms once they are upstairs. "You're hot for a cop" she comments "can I give you a private dance? The room next door is free". He smiles back at her "sorry babe not right now. I need you to get this message in there, maybe in an hour or so once this business is dealt with I'll come and find you." She grins at him, taking an envelope from his hand as she enters one of the rooms while Axel waits in the hallway.

Inside the room DC O'Neil is laying on a bed next to two naked women drinking champagne.

DC O'Neil: "I only paid for two, are you joining us?"

Sandra: "One of your officers asked me to pass on this message to you".

He opens the envelope and almost leaps out of the bed with joy, kissing one of the women he is with on her neck.

O'Neil: "Is officer Stone still here?"

Sandra: "Yes, he is just outside. Get dressed".

5 minutes later O'Neil is dressed and exits the room into the hallway.

Axel: "I wanted to give you the news in person".

O'Neil smiles: "I can't believe you finally tracked it down. After the last couple of days this is the best news I have had, the government will reward us well! $6 million dollars between us. You are going to be a rich man, does anyone else know?"

Axel: "No, I will brief Adam in the morning as he went straight home."

O'Neil: "Good work, how did you find it?"

Axel: "One of my agents raided a car near the Mexican border". He pulls out a white USB stick from his pocket and hands it over to O'Neil.

O'Neil: "Have you had a look yet?"

Axel: "Yes all checked out and verified, I know it's the information you asked us to obtain. How about we take a look just in case, there is an office upstairs".

O'Neil: "Yes let's see, its government sealed on the case but I still think we need to double check it's the right one".

Both men make their way to the staircase and up to an empty floor of offices that are used during the daytime. Axel knows that DC Bailey has dealt with the security cameras and can see that they have been turned to a different angle so that he is out of sight. As far as all of the other cops downstairs are concerned, Axel left for one of the private rooms with the stripper and he made sure that everyone noticed. The bouncer found no weapons or any threat on him either so his back is clear.

Axel opens the door to the office labelled 6.2. The lights are off and the curtains are drawn so he switches them on, closes the door as O'Neil sits down by a desk facing a monitor.

O'Neil: "I've got to say I am truly grateful for this and glad we got to it before Green District. They have their own problems with Bailey working for the syndicate".

Axel smiles and responds: "At least this information can now be delivered to the right people where it belongs."

O'Neil tries to load the contents of the USB but is encountering problems. "Hmmm, that's strange was it working earlier? Maybe we need to reboot. What information was on there?"

Axel: "Well there were three folders. The first contained information regarding the construction of nuclear weapons using the element Rakushin, the second folder had information about experiments on humans with suspected abnormal energies superior to any of us. Very interesting stuff."

O'Neil: "What about the third".

Axel: "See that one was quite disturbing. It was full of information about the Ninjutsu warriors who are part of the Yamato clan, have you heard of them and their powers?"

O'Neil: "It's all fighting legend. Let's take this out and retrieve the files elsewhere, I will let Marcus know we found it". He reaches for his phone which is surprisingly broken.

O'Neil: "Shit, this fucking phone is playing up. Can I use your cell?"

Axel: "I'm sorry I can't let you do that, this USB was really a fake".

O'Neil's face turns to anger: "What the fuck are you playing at? Give me your cell phone now I'm ordering you!"

Blaze steps forward out of the shadows at the back of the room with her gun.

O'Neil: "What the hell is she doing here? Is this bitch behind all of this?"

Axel gives her a nod and exits the room, locking the door behind him as Blaze points the gun at O'Neil.

O'Neil: "All I have to do is call one syndicate member outside or one officer and they will come for you, for Axel and even Adam and his family if he is in this with you".

Blaze claps her hands: "Well done detective, that's truly impressive".

O'Neil: "Fuck you Fielding, I only had you transferred because of the USB".

Blaze walks closer to him: "I know. I know everything about your little deals, your friend Javier Williams, everyone you killed and what you did to my department as well as your own."

O'Neil: "Ramos had it coming to him and he knew it. That information should never have been tracked down by him".

Blaze: "Why did you do it? Why did you have to kill them and injure your own officers? The attacks at Red and Central districts were unnecessary."

O'Neil: "I did what was necessary. Sam Davidson would never have betrayed your DC, you and the other officers so the only way was to have him killed. I don't regret the decisions I've made on behalf of the syndicate and you will pay that price when your dead".

Blaze switches off her phone that has been recording the conversation "you forget I'm the one pulling the strings here and I'm the one who found the information. You no longer have shit on me" she smiles.

O'Neil gets up and charges forward to reach for the phone. Before he has the chance to step closer, Blaze pulls the trigger once, shooting him in the leg as he falls to the ground.

Blaze points the gun again as he crawls in agony. "This is for Sam", she pulls the trigger again to silence him by shooting him in the head.

She quickly climbs out of the window towards the roof and exits the premises the same way as she came in before anyone can realise what has happened. Axel also has made his way back downstairs and out of the venue in front of the bouncer who has seen him. Blaze knows that with this evidence and with O'Neil out of the picture, she has gained back her freedom and is no longer on the run. Chief Inspector Clark is on their side and will ensure that any charges or evidence against her is dropped as a result. Finally, the last battle of the day turned out to be a success.


	21. Chapter 20- Dreamer

**Chapter 20**

Three weeks have passed since O'Neil's death which has been heavily published in the press. The murder was pinned on the syndicate as a result of his involvement in their organisation where the evidence of his confession in killing Sam Davidson was publicly released. The police department concluded that O'Neil was behind the heist and the missing information and he had gotten himself killed as a result.

Things have been slowly getting back to normal and the group of vigilantes have kept a low profile during the investigations. Adam has settled into his new home with Keri and Sasha whilst Sammy is living with Axel working daytimes with Dr Zan collecting deliveries for the lab, learning more and more every day whilst he is off of school as Zan helps him with his studies. Sammy is also focussed on training and knows that it is only a matter of time until he avenges his friend's killer. Blaze also has been focussed on controlling her chi, training and meditating every day to make it as powerful as possible whilst limiting her energy loss and wounds. Clark arranged that she move to the city centre in order to be closer to work as a temporary measure before she leaves for her transfer in a weeks' time. Max is still bitter and suspicious about Raven's death but he has immersed himself in his gym and fighting arena and spends the days cleaning out and hiding the stolen syndicate money and drugs.

Axel is back into his usual work mode routine, planning their next moves and working closely with Chief Clark and DC Bailey. Clark has moved out of his office at City Hall and into Central District temporarily to fill DC O'Neil's duties in running the department.

Chief Clark, Axel and Adam are sat having breakfast inside Benito's restaurant.

Clark: "A lot has happened this summer but finally we are in the position to implement the necessary changes we need. During the fall, I will have to continue with my duties back at City Hall as requested by the government when we find a replacement for Deputy Chief here who will also oversee what is left of Red District. I am in favour of one of you taking this role on. In fact, Adam you have been in the department longer than anyone in your team what do you think?"

Adam glances over to Axel and then back to Clark.

Adam: "It would be an amazing promotion but…"

Clark: "But what? You have earned it and are fully deserving of it".

Adam: "I have a young child and another one on the way in the New Year, I know that this is a big commitment".

Axel shakes his head knowing that Adam has worked hard for this role, why would he turn this down?

They finish their breakfast before walking back to the office.

Adam: "Listen I gotta sign off at 10 for half an hour or so, Keri and I have a scan at the hospital".

Clark: "Of course, good luck!" Adam quickly rushes ahead to finish off his morning duties "and Hunter?" Clark calls, "at least consider my offer". Adam smiles back at him before walking away.

Clark turns to Axel "if he turns the role down it's yours for the taking".

Axel laughs: "I'm not sure if I'm cut out for DC, too much work off the field this was never my ambition".

Clark sighs "looks like I'm stuck with you two then until Adam changes his mind!"

Axel: "He will, he has spent years working for this and I know he is right for Deputy".

Clark: "There is also the matter of your team of lieutenants. With Davidson dead, Hart in rehab on extended leave and Fielding transferring next week, we don't have enough resources higher up to manage Central and Red District."

Axel: "We will manage, we always do".

Clark: "Davidson was a big loss, he was one of the best hackers we had. Hart won't come back, everyone here knows that she is a junkie and has embarrassed the department. To be honest that's not a huge loss."

Axel: "I get the feeling she won't be coming back anytime soon either."

Clark: "I think we're making a big mistake letting Fielding go, she was Carl Ramos' top agent solving the highest number of cases on her team, not to mention her combat skills and experience".

Axel: "Well it was only ever a temporary arrangement her being here and she was the one who took out O'Neil and found the USB so maybe it's for the best".

Clark shakes his head "that's exactly why we are at a loss if Fielding leaves. Do you think that if we offer her the Captain promotion here when Adam accepts the DC role that this is enough to change her mind?"

Axel: "There's no guarantee if or when that will happen. Blaze is stubborn and won't change her mind, you're wasting your breath".

Clark sighs and responds "ok, we'll see about that. That suspension over her head is enough to put Andrew Bingham off of employing her when he knows she assaulted another officer, it's our duty to inform him."

Axel: "But she really wanted that role, I can't do that".

Clark: "Ok your call, I will leave it there. Start looking through the ranks for new lieutenant recruits, our war on the syndicate is about to get a whole lot worse I'm afraid".

* * *

Adam rushes through the doors of Wood Oak Central Hospital, worried that he has not made it in time for the scan. To his relief, Keri is in the waiting area outside of the consultant's room.

Keri: "Hey I've been trying to call"

Adam: "Sorry I'm late I got held up at work. What did the doctor say?"

Before she has the chance to respond, a voice calls out "Miss Campbell, the doctor will see you now".

Keri smiles at Adam as they get up and walk into the room.

The doctor performs the ultrasound in front of the couple who are slightly anxious although they went through this when they had Sasha, things feel different this time around where Adam and Keri feel closer after everything they have been through.

The doctor smiles "you have a healthy boy kicking around in there!" as she shows them the ultrasound image.

Keri laughs: "Yeah that's about right, he takes after his dad!"

Adam is lost for words "Wow, a boy!" Having Sasha was the best thing that ever happened to Adam and now he will get to experience that special moment all over again. He feels like the happiest man alive right now and is blessed to be here in this moment.

The doctor responds smiling: "I'm going to leave you both for a minute, we will get some images printed out for you to take home".

Adam gives Keri a hug and takes her hand "having you, Sasha and now this little guy in my life is the best thing ever. I love you Keri".

Keri smiles a little teary eyed "I know we've been through a lot the past few weeks but I'm always here and were blessed to have our family".

Adam: "Yeah this is a happy time. You know I practically turned down the DC role this morning Clark offered me. You and the kids come first now and nothing else matters".

Keri: "But you've worked so hard"

Adam: "It's ok, I'm happy where I am now and I need to be there for you and the kids, a lot is going to change. Oh and Ms Campbell? I think we need to change that too". He smiles, pulling out a box containing a ring from his pocket, completely surprising her.

Keri: "Oh my God, are you for real? After twelve years you..?"

He smiles nodding his head.

Keri shouts with excitement "yes! I will thank you very much. Oh my God… and the ring? You planned this all. I love you!"

It's a joyous occasion and one of the happiest moments of their lives. Adam: "fuck work, I'm taking the rest of the day off and spending it with you!" They share a long kiss and enjoy the rest of the day they have together.

* * *

The silence of the night air is soothing for Shiva who is at piece in his confinement meditating and channelling his chi on the wooden floor of a large open air room. His guard waits a good two hours until Shiva is finished. "Master Shiva, we have word from the Yamato. They are ready to speak with you".

Shiva: "Have my car ready in fifteen minutes, we will leave straight away once I am prepared".

Shiva has been staying in Japan for the last three weeks, working from a remote area gathering recruits for the syndicate organisation. He is close with many of the ninjas that live in this region and he plans to give them safe access back to America and into Wood Oak City so that they can fight for Mr X's cause. The purpose of his stay is to also keep up appearances with their new found warrior allies, one of them who happens to be Shiva's old master when he was a boy.

Shiva and his driver take a six hour car journey through the remote mountainous wilderness, high and low to make it to the Yamato temple by dawn. It is against their religion to show up to a sacred place without being called so Shiva has been patient in waiting for his master's response over the last three weeks. He completes the last part of his journey on foot up a terrain for 4km towards a beautiful remote red temple, the same place where he first studied as a five year old boy learning the art of Ninjutsu. He kneels down at the entrance to the temple before a tall dark warrior appears in the shadows when the doors slide open.

A deep voice speaks "You may enter".

Shiva makes his way through the doors past gold statues of warriors, black wooden floors and red painted walls with sacred golden scribes.

Shiva kneels down "Master Yamato, it is an honour to be in your presence after a long time". Each warrior adopts this title.

Yamato: "Shiva, your energy has grown and has become more powerful than ever".

Shiva: "It is with all you have taught me, I have become the fighter I am. We have much to discuss".

Yamato Oshiro is dressed in a long black hooded gown. His concealed face bears the scars of centuries of fighting and his dark red eyes resemble a pathway to the rest of the universe. The two of them sit on the floor of the sacred garden at the back of the temple as they see dawn appearing. The garden itself is full of life, flowers, birds and old pillars of fallen ancient cities further into the distance. They are high up in altitude and the fresh air and breeze feels pure.

Yamato: "I have seen hundreds of thousands of sunrises every morning but this is still my favourite part of the day every time I see a new beginning".

Shiva: "And every day the world is changing. We are at the centre of it".

Yamato: "Have you found what you were seeking?"

Shiva: "Our chi will change the world. Our scientists have found new ways of preserving this power in one place. Your legacy can live on forever".

Yamato: "Over the years we lost over a thousand warriors due to human intervention. Now we have three, nothing lasts forever. Our energy cannot be transferred and kept alive to fire other power sources as we are already one with the universe. All we can do is teach powerful individuals like yourself how to access their chi from your own spirit".

Shiva: "Tiger and I don't have enough power between us. Every time we store more energy we get weaker and have to wait days for it to replenish."

Yamato: "Mr X unfortunately doesn't have that capability. But he has made promises to restore our influence here on Earth in his own city. What you are doing is forbidden, you know that".

Shiva: "And he will, we just need more time. What we have will change the world and anyone who believes otherwise will fall at the mercy to us. Every day I will grow stronger."

Yamato: "There is so much left for you to learn Shiva but you will understand one day. For our legacy to live on, you must also one day continue your blood line into the next generation. We cannot be replaced once we go back to the stars but your kind can be reborn".

Shiva nods "Yes master. Mr X is also in the process of granting you a safe place for your temple if you and the other masters want it".

Yamato: "Yes we will meet again soon. As you know we can move ourselves and our temple anywhere in the universe. I only wish it is a safe haven outside of human chaos."

Shiva: "Of course master. There was something else I needed to ask"

Yamato's red eyes glare even more at Shiva in the face.

Shiva: "Are there others that have this power?"

Yamato: "Possibly if they carry it in their blood from previous generations. Many however who trained here with us are dead, you made sure of that when we closed down Akihiro's school to stop the boys from growing up and turning against us. It was a necessary precaution we had to take that he still holds against me. This means that anyone who does have this power in their blood cannot access or control it because they have never been taught. The last individuals who could were all caught by one of your scientists."

Shiva: "I am aware of that but I think I have found someone else who has this power".

Yamato: "Then you must find him and turn him to our religion and use their power. How do you know its natural energy they have?"

Shiva: "I felt it, it was a power even more intense than my own but different. I thought that chi could only be passed down the bloodline through male genes, it was a woman who had this power".

Yamato: "Her chi must come directly from the universe. Once you find her you will need to educate her on our religion and persuade her to practise our ways. Remember that any daughter of the universe must be honoured and respected before you continue your bloodline, if she doesn't want to learn then you have no choice but to defeat her in combat."

Shiva: "Thank you for your guidance master Yamato, I now know what I have to do."

The two of them watch the morning begin and meditate to finish off their reunion. The supreme power that Yamato has feeds Shiva's energy and restores calmness and tranquillity to his soul. He now has a clear head and knows that he needs to go back to Wood Oak tomorrow morning. This is also something that he knows he must not mention to his boss Mr X, who doesn't care about legacy and bloodline. Mr X will only try to take all the power he can get to benefit his cause. In the meantime he is distracted with political campaigning so the burden of this secret should not cause any problems for Shiva.

* * *

 _Fire, chaos and confusion dominate Wood Oak City with people running out into the streets screaming with blood all over their faces. The sky is white full of radioactive substances in the atmosphere that slowly burn the dead bodies lying on the pavement whilst the living flee underground for cover. Axel is in the middle of all of this when he spots a burning temple in the distance. He runs as fast as he can towards it and then through the flames at the entrance. Inside he finds his old master Yamato Akihiro, sitting on the floor with his head in shame with eyes full of regret and sadness._

 _Axel catches his breath: "Master, what happened? Why am I back here?" His dark hooded teacher looks up and points towards the sacred garden at the back of the temple._

 _On his own, Axel carefully walks outside where the fires and smoke behind him have now subsided and the sky is calm and blue. He looks towards the ancient pillars in the distance to find Mr X standing next to hundreds of tanks containing rockets and thousands of cyborgs behind him ready to wipe out anyone standing in his way. The silence in the air is terrifying and unpredictable. With all of his power, all Axel can do is fire up his chi and charge forward straight towards Mr X and his weapons with one goal- to kill him and blow up the entire fleet. It is a suicide mission but there is no other way. Before Axel has the chance to run forward, Mr X shakes his head and smiles. Axel pauses when he hears a voice screaming in the distance._

 _He sees Shiva with his arm around Blaze's neck forcing her to walk towards the four pillars. She looks back at Axel and shouts "do it!" Ordering him to wipe out everyone including themselves on the scene. As he runs closer, Axel tries again and again to project his fire towards Mr X and his weapons but they get further and further away and no matter how much fire he has, it still doesn't touch them. Axel pauses for a moment when his energy starts to deplete._

 _Mr X breaks his silence: "I'm sorry, you will never win this. We have all the power we need now" as he turns towards Blaze._

 _She continuously shouts out "No!" looking directly at Axel from the distance. She tries to break free but can't. Shiva turns around and takes her away towards the other two Yamato warriors standing in a symmetrical temple to the one behind Axel past the pillars._

 _He charges forward will all the fire power he has which results in explosion after explosion of anyone left standing by the pillars which are now alight. The rest of this nightmare is a battle full of blinding flames. All Axel can hear now is the voice of his old master pleading with him over and over again "you have to stop this, you must return to stop this…."_

Axel abruptly wakes up in a sweat back to reality. He switches the bedside lamp on- 3am to be exact. He knows what this means and he knows that his old master has tried to reach out to him with a warning. Something more than politics and police corruption is wrong and his team must not ever give up their fight. Failure is not an option and whatever must be done is fated.


	22. Chapter 21- Failure is not an option

**Chapter 21**

Today marks a huge milestone in the political calendar and is the first day of campaigning for senate for each of the ten candidates. At lunchtime, all ten will kick off their campaigns by addressing the public at Wood Oak Central Square which will also be broadcasted live. Axel and his team have been placed in charge of overseeing security at this highly profiled event. He knows that he will have to face Javier Williams at some point during the day but has to focus on the task in hand, keeping a clear mind.

On the ground floor of Wood Oak Central Department, a large number of officers are ready to go and police vans are transporting groups of ten over to the square a mile away. It is expected that over a million will attend the rally and will see it live outside in the square on the big screen. The candidates have their own platform to speak out for the first time in order to gather potential voters.

Nadine and Blaze are getting ready to leave the office for the vans downstairs.

Nadine turns to her colleague, "We need to go in five minutes, I'll meet you downstairs". Out of the corner of her eye, Blaze notices a brown envelope on her desk that looks official. She wastes no time in opening it.

The first words read:

 _Dear Miss Fielding, we regret to inform you that your role with us is no longer available due to contractual circumstances pending your suspension at Wood Oak Police Department. I am aware that this is short notice however…_

Her heart sinks into her chest as she stops reading and screws up the letter. Just when Blaze thought things were going back to normal and she was ready to move on with the past behind her, there is just no getting away from it. She throws down her gun on the desk along with her bullet proof vest and badge in annoyance before angrily losing her temper where she pushes over the desk, breaking the lamp and creating a mess with paper everywhere. She knows that Auberry-Mason is long gone transferred away so why is someone in the office messing around with her?

Ten minutes later and Adam has run up to the office flustered storming through the door. "Where the fuck have you been Blaze? The van outside is waiting for you, get your shit together now!"

Blaze: "I'm not going".

Adam: "I didn't ask you Fielding, that's an order!" It's awkward for him to separate their friendship and impose his authority over her attitude.

Chief Clark is next to storm through the office and he intervenes "I take it Chief Bingham has contacted you this morning". She knows she is in trouble and salutes him then puts her head down in shame in the middle of the trashed office.

Adam: "You've disobeyed a direct order from your Captain, look at this mess!"

Blaze: "What are you my mother?" Although Adam is her friend that was a major mistake that just came out of her mouth.

Adam has now lost his patience: "Expect a second strike on your file Fielding when you get back this afternoon. Now get your shit together".

Clark intervenes again: "Its ok, she can go home for the rest of the day and cool off". Blaze knows that with a third strike on her records, she will lose any hope of a career or role within a police force and that will be the end of it.

Blaze salutes Chief Clark and turns to leave.

She looks directly to Adam "Go ahead, put that strike on my file. Anything I've wanted out of this career is ruined now anyway thanks to your team".

She quietly walks away leaving Adam bitter and annoyed. Fortunately Clark has more patience than O'Neil ever did and he assures Adam that she will eventually cool off with time.

* * *

Javier Williams is the 7th to speak out from all of the candidates. His style of speech is stern, clear and engaging which is popular with the crowds. He has spoken of issues that people want addressed and has continuously praised the approach of economic growth for the people not just for organisations. His ideas for helping those at the bottom of society to grow businesses and research in medicine and technology are at the fore-front of his campaign.

Mr X: "I end by saying that the power is with you, the citizens of Wood Oak. Change is coming and we need to embrace it, overtaking the world's major global cities. My team of scientists are doing ground breaking research that will cure disease, manufacture double the amount of exports that we as a society depend on, we have methods we are planning to use to make our city a safer place where your children can go to school without looking over their shoulders, where we build a sense of community again, where we stop crime and corruption not just in the centre but in the suburbs. Vote for me and our cause and I will promise you, we will unlock the full potential of Wood Oak City together." The crowd applauses and cheers in favour of his words.

Axel is posted behind the stage with two members of his team and a police dog who continue to scan the area for any threats. He notices a delivery truck labelled with wholesale fruits and a man with a crate of items walking over towards the square. One of the officers next to Axel comments: "He is probably delivering to the market behind the square".

Axel: "Call the market director now and ask him if he is expecting any late deliveries. It's nearly 2pm now so something is not right". As he turns back, he spots the driver running towards the crowd in an attempt to disappear with the package.

Axel reaches to radio the other officers: "Suspect, 5ft6 white male wearing a black shirt and cargo pants with a wooden crate moving through the crowd on East side, over".

Adam radios: "He's headed towards the candidates sitting on the other side I see him". The man leaves the crate by one of the barriers when he spots an officer running towards him. He pulls out a gun from his trousers and shoots down the cop, sending the crowd into panic mode. As he runs off he fires at the candidate delivering their speech who falls to the ground as the man then repeatedly shoots at others until his bullets are finished. Adam runs towards him on the chase through the crowds of people.

Axel radios: "Get to the crate by the barrier and get everyone evacuated away from it!"

Axel and the team cordon off the area, quickly evacuating the crowds safely towards a nearby park and the candidates away in the police vans.

Meanwhile Adam who is on the chase catches up with the culprit and pushes him over towards the ground. They fight throwing punches at one another as the man knocks Adam's gun out of his hand. This man is clearly a good fighter and has taken Adam by surprise. He pulls out a knife from his pocket, stabbing Adam in the arm but he does not give up and in that moment Adam breaks the man's hand, forcing him to drop the knife then knocking him out with one blow to the head.

The police and paramedics rush over to the scene to arrest the man and tend to Adam who is heavily bleeding.

Adam gets up: "I'm ok".

Once the crowds are fully evacuated, Axel and his police dog cautiously walk over to the crate. He knows the risks involved and that anything could be in there. Having trained in the military to detect explosives, this is routine for him but he knows the risks. This time however it is different. His German Shepard howls and decides not to go any further towards the crate.

Axel crouches down: "What is it Riley?" He lets go of the lead and the dog lies down on the ground. Axel knows this is not just some regular explosive as their police dogs are trained in sniffing these out, this is something different that the dog can't recognise.

Axel: "Everyone get back now that's an order!"

The police vans and ambulances still on the scene quieten down and everyone standing paces backwards leaving the space empty which was crowded only five minutes ago.

Axel aims his firearm at the box and fires one shot on the edge of the box. To everyone's shock, a blue force field slowly illuminates from the hole in the box and starts to quickly smoke and intensify.

Axel shouts out: "Take cover now, this thing is going to explode!"

Within seconds, a bright white light about 7ft tall appears and explodes the box containing nails and glass. Although the police are used to witnessing explosives and controlling them, this is completely strange as there is no smoke. This explosion may have killed hundreds of people standing in the vicinity five minutes ago. The disposal unit quickly arrive to investigate the damage and materials used for the device. Fortunately, there were no casualties and although four of the candidates were seriously injured along with one officer from gun shots, they will all live.

Clark arrives at the scene relieved that no one has been hurt by the explosion "the disposals unit will take it from here and I will question the suspect in person. Good work Captain Stone, see to it that Hunter gets checked out at the hospital".

Axel: "Yes chief. That was no regular explosive, that energy field was generated on its own without a timer and without any materials."

Clark: "I will send you the report straight away. Go and get yourself sorted out I'll take it from here".

Axel kneels down to pet Riley "thank you, you saved both our asses today".

* * *

Adam has been inside Wood Oak Central Hospital for less than an hour and he is already complaining. The staff have examined and x-rayed his shoulder for any damage. All seems to be fine internally but they are keeping an eye on the wound.

Adam: "Nurse please I need to get out of here now, I have enough blood left and I want to see my family".

The nurse responds: "It will only be another hour and then the doctor needs to check the stitches and wound before you are discharged".

Adam feels very helpless and pissed off at the moment but he has no choice.

A minute later Axel walks through the door "how you doing bro?"

Adam responds: "I could be better but I'm glad we caught that motherfucker", he gives his friend a bro hug.

Axel: "You're catching up with me now" referring to Adam's wound which will scar later on.

Adam laughs: "I need to get the fuck out of here now, any news on the device?"

Axel: "No, Clark is on it. As far as I know it was some sort of energy field probably created by Shiva or Tiger that the syndicate stored from their chi. This is just a taster of what could come later. Apparently no uranium or plutonium was found so luckily this time it wasn't radioactive."

Adam: "Jesus this is bad and they're only testing their weapons. That could have killed hundreds".

Axel: "I know, the next step is to take out Tiger before we get to Shiva. At least with him out of the picture, they only have half the power."

Adam: "Yeah, I want Sammy to be safe. Speaking of which, can you remind him to come to the house later at 7pm were having a gathering. I expect you there also as well as the others"

Axel: "Really, is it some sort of house warming party?"

Adam: "Call it that if you want but be there at 7. I'll try and convince Blaze she is pissed off with me I gave her a strike for bailing out on us".

Axel: "Blaze is pissed off with everyone, get Keri to talk to her".

Adam: "Yeah that's a good idea, she'll listen to her".

Axel: "Alright I need to go back to the office, I'll see you tonight".

The nurse returns to the room, "excuse me Mr Stone there's someone outside who wants to speak to you".

Axel: "Tell them I'm working"

She replies "there's also a whole load of press outside who want to question you and commend you for dealing with the bomb at Wood Oak Square".

Axel: "Shit. Just tell them Chief Clark will address them later".

Axel quickly leaves the room and to his surprise, he finds three of the candidates including Javier Williams in the waiting area outside.

One of them, Walter Adams approaches Axel and speaks out shaking his hand "we just thought that we'd personally like to come and thank you and your team for saving our necks today. The nurses told us you and Captain Hunter were here when we came to visit the injured candidates."

Axel replies: "I was just doing my job, if it wasn't for Riley we wouldn't have known any different and Adam was the one who caught and arrested the man behind it all".

Javier Williams looks him in the eye and extends his hand "really we are grateful for all of your hard work and to the other officers. Today could have been far worse than it was". The closer he gets the more it seems he has to hide. Axel takes his thank you calmly and shakes his hand, blocking away all of the hate he feels towards this man. It could be so easy right now to kill Mr X. All he has to do is either set him on fire or grab a knife from one of the surgeons then puncturing the artery connected to his hand. But Axel can't.

"Thank you councillor" Axel responds.

Javier: "You and your team are seriously some of the best security experts I have come across. I will be sure to call your department again for assistance and you will be compensated fairly. All the best Agent Stone".

Axel walks away calmly feeling sick to his stomach as he quickly enters one of the bathrooms out of sight to throw up. As he washes his face and looks up at the mirror he thinks of his parents and the nightmare of last night. Failure is not an option and he must stop this now. The words of his old master are repeatedly running through his head. He composes himself and discretely leaves a different exit of the hospital to avoid any press.


	23. Chapter 22- Sorry is not enough

**Chapter 22**

The food is ready, the music is blaring and the party is just getting started. Its 8pm and Blaze of course is always late. She knocks at the door of Adam's new house when Sammy happily answers "Hey Blaze!" He gives her a big hug.

Blaze: "Hey Sammy how's it going with the doctor?"

Sammy: "He's got me learning so much its better than school. All that science shit we did is nothing compared to what he knows!"

Blaze smiles: "Glad to hear it".

Keri and Sasha rush towards the door giving Blaze another big hug. Sasha is beaming with excitement "yay you came to visit us! Can we still see the turtles?"

Blaze smiles as she hugs her, "Yes definitely! That's the first place I'm going to take you to when I have a weekend off".

Keri smiles as Blaze hands her over a bouquet of flowers and a gift bag.

Blaze: "I wasn't sure if you are having a boy or a girl so I stuck to neutral!"

Keri: "aw that's so sweet, thank you!" she pulls out a few cute white baby grows with bears on the front as Blaze notices the ring on her friend's finger.

Blaze: "Oh my God, he proposed?!"

The two of them start jumping around excitedly never had expecting this to happen.

Blaze: "That's amazing news!"

Keri: "It gets better, we found out we are having a boy!" again they hug each other.

Blaze: "You both deserve all of the happiness in the world, wow this is really lovely news. Just don't name him Adam Jr please!" both of them laugh.

Keri: "I know right? He has his heart set on that but were going to have to change it!"

Blaze: "When is the big day then? Wow we have so much to organise!"

Keri: "probably sometime after the baby comes along and you my friend are already my maid of honour. You will have to regularly visit us and take time off for the wedding when you go back to England".

Blaze smiles: "I'm not going back. I've decided to quit the force".

Keri replies shocked: "What?!"

Blaze: "It's for the best and I'll tell you properly another time. Come on we need to go and celebrate your engagement house warming party!" she smiles.

As Keri shows her around, Adam appears giving Keri a kiss on the lips. "Hey gorgeous some of the guests are asking for more glasses, I've looked everywhere but am still finding my way around, that kitchen is huge".

Keri laughs: "I left them in the dining room, don't worry I will go and get them. At least he knows where the fridge is" she jokes to Blaze before leaving the two of them alone in the hallway.

Adam: "Blaze I'm sorry I lost it with you earlier".

Blaze: "No I'm sorry, I was out of line and you were only doing your job. I'm just glad you're ok" she glances over to his bandaged shoulder.

Adam: "I heard the news about your transfer, I'm sorry".

Blaze gives him a forced smile. "It just wasn't meant to be. I know it wasn't you who made the phone call so don't take it to heart. We'll talk more about it later".

He gives her a hug "you know Keri and I are always here seniorita if you need anything. And you are maid of honour at my wedding".

Blaze: "Thanks Adam". She laughs "I can't believe you just said my wedding! Keri is gonna kill you!"

Adam: "Its fine, you two are in charge of organising!"

She follows Adam into the front room where all the guests are socialising, enjoying food and drink and taking photos. It's full of Adam and Keri's close friends and family some of whom Blaze already knows and has met before. The first cold stare she witnesses is from Max on the couch next to Luca but she quickly lets it go and gives him a nod acknowledging that she does not want another war tonight. She notices Axel on the other side of the room near the kitchen talking to Sammy so she turns around and walks in the other direction- another war she wants to avoid.

As soon as Blaze walks away she realises this was another mistake as Paulette (Keri's mother) prances in.

Paulette: "Hi darling how are you doing? This house is great isn't it, how are you keeping these days?"

Blaze: "Hi Mrs Campbell, I'm good thank you".

Paulette: "You must be missing home darling are you still living alone?"

Blaze smiles and nods.

Paulette: "What a shame, for a pretty girl like yourself at your age you should have a husband by now. I'm telling you it took Adam long enough but at least they were already living together".

Blaze: "At least they doing things on their own terms when they are ready".

All Blaze wants to do right now is run for the hills away from Paulette.

Blaze: "Would you excuse me, I just need the bathroom". Any excuse to get away.

Sammy chimes some glasses to gain everyone's attention and people outside from the garden start to flock inside the house.

Adam turns to him: "thanks bro".

Adam: "Were making this brief but we'd like to start by thanking all of our close friends and family who are here tonight supporting us and thank you to everyone for our house warming gifts and messages."

Keri continues: "The other reason why we called you here is because we have some news. Many of you know that in the spring, we are expecting another baby and just yesterday, Adam and I got engaged!"

The whole crowd cheer and clap, elated by the happy news.

Adam: "We hope that you can stay and celebrate with us for the rest of the night. I know that Sasha over there is really excited to have a baby brother and someone next to me here is thrilled to be an uncle again" he winks at Sammy.

Sammy: "Yeah Ima start calling you husband now". The crowd starts to laugh before another guest calls out "so when is the big day?"

Keri responds: "We haven't set a date yet but that will come next, definitely it will be somewhere in Wood Oak in the spring as this is where Adam and I first met. We have also chosen Adam's best man and my maid of honour!" She smiles excitedly as the crowd turns to glance at Blaze on one side and Axel on the other who are both put on the spot.

Adam: "so let's raise as glass and toast to the future". The guests raise their glasses and enjoy the rest of the party.

An hour later and Blaze is outside in the garden on a swinging bench talking to Sasha.

Sasha looks up at her: "Is it true you're going away?"

Blaze turns to her "No Sash I'm not going anywhere. But even if I did know that I will always be thinking of you and we will find those turtles". Sasha gives her a hug.

A voice from behind them speaks out "Mind if I join you?" Axel's approaches the bench where they are sitting.

Sasha immediately leaps up with excitement and runs over to him as he picks her up. Blaze however is feeling awkward and wants some privacy away from the rest of the team.

Blaze gets up "I'm going back inside the house now. See you later Sash".

Sasha, still in Axel's arms turns to him and says "you know you have to bow to her".

Axel laughs: "What? Why do I have to bow to her?"

Sasha: "Because she is a princess!"

Axel plays along: "I knew it! You know what, every time she walks in the room she makes demands but she is still a good princess". Blaze feeling offended starts to walk away.

Axel: "I'm just joking around"

Blaze: "What do you want Axel?"

Sasha responds to him: "But you should be nicer to her!"

Axel: "Your right Sasha, I'm sorry".

Blaze: "Thank you. Sasha I think your uncle just called you go and see what he wants".

Axel puts her on the ground before she curtsies and leaves to go back inside the house.

Blaze: "You got some nerve approaching me! I know it was you who jeopardised my transfer."

Axel: "I'm sorry, I had to. If you leave, they will find you and they will take all of your power away. We can't protect you if you are thousands of miles from here".

Blaze: "That's not your decision to make!"

Axel: "Your fake ID is still missing with your photograph. If the syndicate haven't found it already they will and they will know your face. The service station, Raven all of it connects to your chi".

Blaze: "They won't find me, I can look after myself. You know, I really wanted a new start and you took that away from me".

Axel: "I'm only protecting you and the rest of the city"

Blaze walks closer to him, feeling even more annoyed. "Since when did you care about anyone apart from yourself and your revenge mission? You're keeping me here because you know for a fact that you can't do this alone without me and without my power. I am the only fighter in this city that can kill you and Shiva with what I have".

Axel: "I have more power than you and more experience, I can still face them alone".

Blaze: "No you can't. I gave up that dream the minute I saw the contents of that USB. There's nothing we can do and I'm not part of this anymore, accept it!"

Axel: "Your wrong, and I do care. Like you I dream of the future. My old master called out to me, he showed me things they are planning to do to wipe us out and we are in the middle of it all. They took you and your energy and they used it to hurt you and kill others".

Blaze: "I'm quitting the force and I'm quitting the team! Max wants me dead anyway and I can't stay here anymore I'm sorry".

Axel: "We need you, I need you! I don't care if you're angry with me. I don't care what went down with the USB or Raven and I don't give a shit how much power they want to take from you. I would make that phone call without hesitation a hundred times over again just to keep you safe."

Blaze responds with sadness in her voice "you had no right to decide my future!" Before she turns away and rushes off inside the house.

Axel: "Blaze wait…."

Blaze: "Just stay away from me".

He sighs as Adam and Keri spot the end of the argument "what did you say to her? Why is she so upset?" Keri who is confused, rushes back inside after Blaze.

Axel turns to Adam: "I need to go home but I'll see you in the morning, congratulations bro".

Without saying anymore, he disappears avoiding any further conflict.

* * *

Three days have passed and no one has heard anything from Blaze, she hasn't attended work nor has she contacted Zan or any of the others. Leaving the group was her call and maybe it's just a matter of time until she has had enough space or needs their help. On the other hand maybe she is gone for good back to London. Adam thinks to himself the least she could have done was say goodbye to Sasha and Sammy.

The team have been busy working at the warehouse preparing their next move.

Adam: "Luca has managed to track down some information hacking Mr X's secretary's phone and computer. The syndicate are expecting a drugs delivery at 6pm tonight and have appeared to step up their efforts to regain their funds. The rest of our DEA at Central and Clark are aware of their next move but we need backup just in case this fails. The exchange will take place underneath Fortess skyscraper in the underground car park. The distributor will meet two of Tiger's men, Jack Barnes and Galsia Amos. We need to act quickly if we are to steal the drugs."

Axel: "Max and Sammy I need you on standby at the exit in case they escape follow them and track their cars. Adam and I will be on duty with the rest of the feds. It has taken weeks to get hold of this and we can't afford to fuck this up. Are we all clear on this?"

The others nod before they gather their weapons together.

17:50 and the cops have been on standby around the car park for the last four hours. As the van takes route they are tracking its every move and know when the delivery will be arriving. All Axel and Adam have to do now is wait for Jack and Galsia to arrive at the car park before they make their arrests.

Adam radios Axel waiting in another car overlooking the entrance: "their car has entered the building heading towards lower ground level 3. Look out for a black Mercedes S Class"

Axel: "I see them. The van should be here any minute".

Five minutes later and the distributor has arrived, parking the van on the other side of the car park on Basement 3. Whilst they are away from the car, Sammy quietly goes over to it and places a tracking device underneath. Galsia and Jack both walk over to the van driver, exchanging handshakes and discussing the delivery. As soon as they let their guard down, the DEA move in quickly with their guns to make the necessary arrests. Both men are quick to react when they pull out their guns, shooting towards any cops that try to get in their way. During the exchange of bullets the van driver is killed when he is shot in the chest.

Galsia runs for the stairwell when his ammo is finished and is chased by Adam to the upper level. The two men start to fight on the staircase. Adam kicks Galsia in the neck before grabbing him and slamming his back against the wall. Galsia manages to kick Adam in the leg with a sharp knife pointing from the tip of his shoe. Adam is fortunate that his kick was not 2 inches higher. Galsia proceeds to pull out another two knives from his pocket trying his best to cut and stab Adam who is fast enough to block his efforts. Eventually Adam manages to kick the weapons out of Galsia's hands, forcing him to fall down the stairs. Adam runs down one flight to arrest Galsia and is quick to react when he pulls out another knife on the floor, projecting it straight towards Adam. "Motherfucker you're under arrest!" Adam cuffs Galsia before emptying the contents of his pocket, finding at least another five different knives.

Unfortunately Jack has made it back to the car and is getting away from the DEA chasing his tail. He breaks through the barriers, driving onto the highway at full speed facing oncoming traffic. Amidst the chaos of causing a series of accidents with police cars and drivers, he eventually loses them but is unaware that Max is on his tail tracking him. Eventually Jack pulls up into a small garage about two miles away full of other cars.

He pulls out his phone "Hey T it's me, I need you to send someone to pick me up I'm in trouble. I think the feds picked up Galsia…. Ok see you in ten minutes". As he hangs up his phone, Sammy and Max approach the garage in their black ski masks.

Jack puts his hands up "what the fuck? The DEA couldn't catch up with me who the fuck are you?" Max grabs him by the hair and starts punching him in the stomach until Jack is spitting blood. He is down on the floor and badly injured as Max shouts "where the fuck are the rest of your men?" Jack laughs as he pulls out a knife from his pocket, stabbing Max in the chest and catching him off guard. Sammy quickly intervenes, delivering a flying kick to Jack's head.

Sammy: "Shit, the rest of them are here let's move!" Max and Sammy quickly flee the garage when they realise Tiger is pulling up outside with four other cars.

* * *

Back at the car park, Axel and the other officers investigate the van and its contents as no exchange had taken place. He steps into the back of the van with gloves and scans every inch from the ceiling to the floor. "Fuck! There's only three kilos in here. We were expecting at least 20!"

Adam responds: "Don't worry we will question this fucker" he hands over the ID 'Galsia Amos'.

Axel: "Make sure he is charged straight away and not granted bail, he is important to the syndicate".

Adam: "We aint got shit on him though, as far as he is concerned he could have just met the driver who was holding a minimal amount- not an amount high enough for an organisation to make a profit on the streets".

Axel: "They set this up. They knew we were coming, the actual delivery is somewhere else by now. Call Max and find out where Jack went, maybe he knows something. Shit!"

Feeling annoyed that they messed up, the team head back to the station and start their search again. Eventually Galsia is questioned and released on bail as the DEA had insufficient evidence to pin a high scale drug deal on him. He is only charged with assaulting an officer and is granted bail the next day by the attorneys with a full hearing pending later.


	24. Chapter 23- Restoring order

**Chapter 23**

Barbon's Nightclub is a popular bar and strip club in a rough part of Central District owned by the syndicate. It is managed and run by Barbon, a syndicate thug who has been with them since the beginning with Electra Davies who provides the girls and oversees the financial aspects of the club. Most of the regulars in there are syndicate drug dealers and fighters who prefer to stay clear of the posh Mercury Room uptown.

Blaze reaches the back entrance of the club, her car parked on the main road outside 20m away. She walks towards the door confidently and smiles at the bouncer on arrival. "I start in 20 minutes do you mind showing me around?"

He replies: "You must be one of the new girls but you're late! The auditions have already finished".

Blaze smiles: "apologies, I'm always late but I'm worth the wait".

He can't help but grin back at her, looking into her mixed blue-green eyes and checking out her profile. "Look I'll tell you what, if I show you through to backstage where you can get ready, maybe you can do me a favour later on my break at 12". She cheekily smiles and nods as he lets her into the club. He comments to the other bouncer "Damn that chick is hot".

Blaze is dressed in high black heals, short blue hot pants, blue bikini top hair out in messy curls finished with smoky eye makeup, red lipstick and gold hoops. She is also wearing her short black leather jacket and carrying a black bag similar to a gym bag. Once Blaze is in, the first place she goes to is the bathroom where she plants a small explosive device behind a water tank setting it to 30 minutes. She is careful that no one sees her and is cautious in passing through the tables with punters admiring the girls at the podium through the smoked up club. In the time she has, she quietly makes her way up to Barbon's office and discretely picks the lock. As she enters she searches the office for any drugs but there is no sign of the stash she is looking for. She quickly leaves the office and walks downstairs before a man dressed in a black jacket with piercings over his face stops her in his tracks.

Jack: "You should be downstairs, get back to work now bitch!"

She puts her head down and quickly leaves his sight for the downstairs dressing room while wondering where else the drugs could be. The bar is buzzing at the moment with three strippers on the poles and money being thrown everywhere- maybe they have sold the stash already.

As Blaze enters the dressing room, five of the other dancers observe her with evil stares knowing that she is the new girl. The threat of another dancer better than them could cost them their job and tips.

"Bitch please, that's my dressing area. Put your shit elsewhere". One of them, Nora pushes Blaze out of the way. As Blaze falls to the ground, she can see that underneath the makeup desk there is a panel on the floor. A couple of minutes pass by and the dancers swap and go out onto the stage, leaving Blaze alone for a moment. She pulls opens the panel- bingo, at least 20kg of coke is stashed there. From her bag she quickly opens and places a petrol container inside the panel then closes it. She now has five minutes until her device detonates and causes a fire in the building so she plans on getting out fast.

An excited voice enters the room "fuck my life, the stage is lit out there! I just got $400 in tips". Blaze instantly recognises the voice behind her as one of the strippers enters the dressing room after her performance. Blaze gets up off the floor slowly and turns around to face the woman talking to her.

Blaze: "Jess?"

There is a shocked pause between the two of women as another stripper enters the room and comments "Jessica who the fuck is this?"

Jess points at Blaze: "Kill her now!"

As Blaze tries to escape from the room, the two women pull out a set of whips from their draws and strike them towards her. Blaze is quick to dodge their efforts, jumping up onto the desks and running across them to the end. As she jumps down, Nora enters the room and Blaze delivers a kick to her face. Jess and the other woman are moving fast and trying to strike Blaze with their whips. Out of nowhere another stripper enters the door behind Blaze and tries to grab her. In a split second Jess projects the whip towards Blaze's face but she is quick to react and backbends low so that the whip passes over her head and strikes the stripper behind her in the face. In doing so, it electrocutes the stripper and she passes out on the ground.

Blaze gets back up "shit!" she can't believe that simple whip is electric.

Jess: "Fuck you Fielding, I never liked you".

Blaze: "That's something we can agree on, how's the crack these days and your new career?" Blaze sweeps the other stripper holding a whip off the floor and knocking it out of her hand. The stripper ends up falling with her back on the electric part.

Jess tries over and over again to strike Blaze, this time narrowly missing her face. The whip ends up getting caught on one of the radiators on the wall, forcing Jess to let it go. Blaze is quick to take advantage and the pair of them throw punches at each other as Jess tries to grab Blaze by the hair. All the commotion has attracted attention and Barbon and another man enter the dressing room. All Blaze can do now is fight them off and get out of there. She spends the next minute blocking their efforts as Jess, Barbon and his bouncer try to grab her. Barbon also delivers a fast roundhouse kick which ends up going wrong when Blaze ducks, knocking out Jess.

Blaze knows that she has less than two minutes to get out before the whole place explodes.

Barbon: "This bitch won't give up".

Blaze quickly rolls over to grab one of the whips and immediately strikes the bouncer next to her, electrocuting him.

Blaze: "Stay back or I'll kill you!" Barbon ignores her order and pulls out a knife from his pocket to attack Blaze. Just in time, she ducks and he misses. She decides to project the whip which catches him around the neck.

Barbon: "No! Don't, I'll let you go". He struggles to break free.

Blaze: "Sorry it's too late for that". She tugs the whip which ends up electrocuting Barbon. It's a painful death which takes longer than 20 seconds where blood pours from his neck and eyes.

Blaze grabs her bag and runs as fast as she can out of the club past the strip poles, past the bar and past the front entrance.

The bouncer she met on the door shouts: "wait! Where are you going?"

She reaches 10m away from the club when there is a massive explosion inside the building followed by several mini explosions from burst pipes and electric lighting. Anyone in that building will be lucky to survive and as for the coke- over 2 million dollars' worth up in flames.

Blaze catches her breath and gets into the car before any police sirens get closer as she speeds off in the other direction away from the scene. She reaches for her phone "Wood Oak Central DEA, I'm reporting a drug den. 35 Wilson Avenue, Barbon's Bar"

 _#Hangs up#_

She throws the cell phone out of the window and continues to drive away from the scene.

* * *

Adam's email pings with images of the burnt club- the bodies, the collapsed buildings and the burnt remains of the coke stash. "Damn the syndicate used Barbon's to stash the supply we were looking for earlier today. Something must have gone badly wrong for them not to notice a bomb in their club or they must have some serious enemies." He displays a photo of Barbon lying burnt and dead on the floor with a whip still around his neck "not the way I would want to die" Adam comments.

He continues: "Hey Ax, do you think Max eventually found them and the 20 kilos of coke?"

Axel: "No, they would have told us. If anything, Barbon knows Max's face and the guests at that club are all members… I know who destroyed their supply" he smiles.

Adam: "Who?"

Axel: "She's smarter than you think. The only non- members they would have allowed in were any dancers auditioning or working there."

Adam laughs: "I'll be damned. So Blaze decided to continue by herself meaning she is still somewhere in Wood Oak City".

Axel: "Send a message out to the others, we need to hit them again while they are weak".

They are interrupted by Nadine knocking on the door.

Adam: "What is it Lieutenant Bilson?"

Nadine: "There is a politician downstairs demanding to speak with Chief Clark".

Axel: "He's out at Red District today, who is it?"

Nadine: "Electra Davies, the owner of the club that burnt down".

Axel: "Shit, okay give me a minute".

Axel goes downstairs to meet her "Mrs Davies what can I do for you?"

Electra gives him a stern reply: "I need to speak with Chief Clark, I understand that he has taken over DC O'Neil's duties including the safety and security of my club".

Axel: "I'm sorry but Chief Clark is elsewhere and has left myself and my co-Captain in charge". He escorts her into one of the offices on the first floor.

Electra removes her shades and jacket, revealing a tight cream dress.

Axel: "Please take a seat".

Electra: "As you are aware, my husband Minister Goldberg is a very powerful man and someone who is behind the funding of this department. Now that O'Neil rest his soul is dead, I feel as if our security measures have been slipping. We had an arrangement with our licensing, protection and security from your department. Tonight it took over 20 minutes for the police to arrive at my club and they have refused to explain why there are reports of drugs in my club. Furthermore they will not even grant me access into my own building."

Axel: "I think that whatever arrangement you had with O'Neil regarding your licensing is not our concern. There were drugs found stashed inside your club so any licensing or insurance you feel you have is void. I understand your husband is a powerful man and although he has powers over funding, he has no control over our operations and the cases we prioritise. I would suggest that you let us do our job, dealing with whoever caused the fire and whoever planted the drugs."

He opens the door to show her out "I'm sorry to hear about your business".

Electra: "You haven't seen the end of me Axel Stone. I assure you, whoever is responsible for this whether it be you, the DEA here, the Red district, any of them, I will hold them accountable and my husband won't hesitate to hold back their funding. Have a nice evening".

Electra leaves the building and walks a couple of blocks down towards a parked Mercedes, reaching for her phone as she gets in.

Electra: "I honestly don't know if they are behind this. They fell for the decoy earlier but our supply was delivered to Barbon's whilst that operation went ahead….. Possibly the problem may have come from Red District. I want to know exactly who got out alive, who was dancing and any rescued surveillance in the area. We have another few million down the drain, Tiger is not going to be happy with this so get down to the bottom of the shit we are in fast".

 _#Hangs up#_

The car makes its way to Tiger's safe house so that she can deliver an update on the situation directly to him.

* * *

12am and Max, Adam, Axel, Sammy, Zan and Luca have met back at the warehouse to discuss the day's events and where their next target is while the syndicate are weak.

Max: "Ultimately the next step is to get to Tiger. We do that by taking out Jack, his main distributor and Electra".

Adam: "According to the tracker we had on Jack's car he was at Barbon's earlier tonight but his body hasn't been recovered at the scene. Also Electra is a bit more difficult to kill, she is well protected not just by the syndicate but she is in bed with the politicians and her husband will react to the feds with consequences if we hold her ransom or kill her".

Max: "The next place we need to track down is where Tiger, Electra and Jack clean their money. We will monitor the tracker and will take it from there. Mr X must already be getting impatient with all of this bad luck they are having so we might just get lucky if he does the job in killing them first."

Axel: "He knows he needs his loyalties around to protect him no matter how much they fuck up. Tomorrow we find Tiger's stash house, we locate all of their businesses including the brothel, the casino and their garages where they hide the drugs. We'll take out as many of their fighters as we can".

Sammy: "Shit, did you hear that?" They hear a car pulling up outside the warehouse.

Adam: "Wait here Sammy!" Adam, Max and Axel take out their handguns and walk towards the front locked up entrance while the intruder outside is trying to open the shutters. The men decide to quietly wait in the dark by the edge until they are open so that they can get a good range on whoever is trying to brake in.

As the shutters go up the three of them point their guns to whoever is breaking in until they realise its Blaze.

Blaze: "What the fuck? It's me!" She spots the three of them pointing guns at her before they lower their weapons.

Max: "What are you doing here? I thought you quit".

Blaze turns to Adam "aren't you gonna let me in?"

She walks with them into the other large room where Zan, Sammy and Luca are sat around the meeting table. Blaze is carrying three large gym bags over her shoulders which Adam and Axel offer to take off of her. She smiles at them "no thanks!"

Sammy looks up happily when he sees her: "Blaze!"

Blaze: "Hey Skate, good to see you!" she smiles. She is dressed in a black hooded jumper under her jacket with jeans. The clothes she was wearing earlier at the club are now burnt. As soon as she left, she ditched the car shortly after and burnt the clothes she was in as well as tying her hair back and removing the make up from her face in case the feds were on her case.

Adam, pissed off turns towards her: "you can't just come and go as you please. You don't show up at work, at our meetings, we hear nothing from you."

Zan responds: "He's right. It is really irresponsible of you Blaze, I've been worried and have wondered time and time again what if they captured you and used your power. You also have a lot of focussing to do on yourself".

Max smirks: "It doesn't surprise me to be honest".

She looks up and smiles at the group, proud of herself before throwing the three heavy bags onto the table.

Axel: "I thought you burnt all of the drugs back at Barbon's".

Blaze: "I did. In two of these bags you will find $8 million belonging to Tiger that I stole from his stash house on the outskirts of Wood Oak yesterday along with an ammo delivery he was expecting in the third bag".

Luca and Sammy open the bags, surprised that she has managed to get hold of all of this by herself.

Blaze turns to Max: "Now do you believe me?"

Max: "How the hell did you…"

Blaze laughs. "In two days I got all of this shit by myself, taking full advantage of their vulnerabilities. You guys on the other hand, as well as the DEA tried all your efforts to track down their coke delivery but you couldn't do it!"

Axel: "What are you trying to prove here? You said you were not part of this anymore".

Blaze: "I still want them dead but I refuse to work under you or anyone else here who questions my motive. I'm not returning to the police department but I need the feds to cover my tracks".

Adam: "let me get this straight, your planning by yourself to take down the syndicate, killing their associates and robbing them one by one then seeking police protection in case your caught?"

Blaze: "precisely. My name stays clear in all of this. I have spent the last three days tracking down the location of their warehouses, their suppliers, some of their hideouts all of it I have. I can give you this information in exchange for backing me up when I kill Wood Oak's number one prospective senator. The only things I don't have are all the aspects of the syndicate that separate them from the old cartels such as the trafficking centre, brothels and labs."

Zan: "Luca and I have spent months trying to track down this information to do with their drugs. How did you find it?"

Blaze: "I went back to the source. When the syndicate established their organisation, they wiped out every major cartel who had territory in Wood Oak, including my family. In doing so, they took all of their suppliers in Columbia, the politicians in their pockets and their real estate. My uncle kept a record of all of this information as well as the names and locations of rival cartels twenty years ago. My father once had someone hide that information at the cemetery where they are buried. After all these years I never attended my parents and siblings funerals or their gravestones until now. The man who works there knew my father and knew that one day I would come back. He has held on to that information all this time and when he saw the flowers I bought with me to their graves, he knew I was the child they'd left back in London".

She pulls out an album from her bag containing family photos from when she was a child.

Adam: "What's this?"

Blaze: "He gave me this at the cemetery".

Adam opens the album to find lots of old photos of Blaze and her brother and sister when they were kids. Axel pulls out one of the photos and turns it around to find messages written on the back containing names and locations.

Axel: "These are the names of warehouse locations that the five cartels who owned Wood Oak's territory used to operate in".

Blaze: "All of these photos contain contacts and locations. I've spent the last three days following the suppliers, tracking down these sites and the syndicate are using each one as a base to store their money, drugs and ammo".

Adam gives her a hug, lifting her off the ground "Blaze you're a fucking genius, I'll be damned!"

Blaze: "I know we have had our disagreements" she glances at Max and Axel "but I'm on your side".

The group spend the rest of the hour scanning through the locations listed and suppliers at the back of the photos.

3am already and Blaze has stepped outside to get some air, not wanting to look at anymore old photographs. Max follows her outside, offering her a cigarette.

Blaze: "No thanks, I don't smoke".

Max: "I owe you an apology, I was wrong about you Fielding".

Blaze: "Thank you, I'm sorry you had to find out about Raven that way. I know what it's like to be betrayed by those closest to you".

Max: "I was out of line with all those things I said about you and your family. And I'm sorry that Raven put you through all that shit. Just know I would never have condoned him hitting you like that at my gym if I knew the extent of what he did".

Blaze smiles and gives him a hug.

Max: "I know you want to work off the team now but know that if there is anything you need I am happy to help".

Blaze smiles: "Thanks Thunder" referring to his fighting name.

Axel interrupts the pair "glad to see you two have finally called a truce".

Max leaves to go back inside the warehouse to give them a minute to talk.

Blaze: "I want 50% of the cut we make from the syndicate's money".

Axel: "You know what we do with their supplies and their money, 50% is way overboard there's 7 of us here".

Blaze: "No, there's six of you on your team and one on mine, 50% plus police protection. I plan to take down the syndicate and get to the Yamato with their own funds".

Axel: "It's impressive what you did I admit that but we got all the information you've taken now."

Blaze: "And I will find more".

Axel: "I'll tell you what, I'll cut you 25% plus police protection if you come back to Wood Oak Central Department. We have the surveillance footage that Electra Davies desperately wants from outside her club and I can easily destroy it."

Blaze: "So you would really trade me in to the feds to stop me leaving? That's not going to work".

Axel: "I didn't say that. It looks like I got more to offer you than you have to offer us right now."

Blaze: "Fine. I will come back if you hand over your control of Red District to me as Captain."

Axel: "It's all yours as long as you stay and cooperate".

After a long pause, she reaches out and shakes his hand.

Blaze: "Hope I didn't manage to create another spark there. By the way you'll know from the outside surveillance who entered that club and who got out. I know that everyone who saw my face and tried to kill me is dead- I made sure of that. Including Lieutenant Hart who failed."

Axel: "I know, she's always been on their side just like Raven".

Blaze smiles: "At least I had the balls to finish both of them for good, you should never have underestimated me. Sorry for your loss".

Blaze walks away content with their deal knowing that in the end she got the upper hand, leaving a bitter sweet Axel who knows he has been outsmarted. Whatever their differences are, they need to put them aside so that the team can be successful in breaking down the syndicate.

* * *

The next morning Axel destroyed the footage and Blaze returned to the police force. The couple of days that followed consist of raids on vulnerable syndicate areas including their drug hideouts and money laundering centres. The team also see to it that there is an end to Mr X's drug suppliers in South America. As far as Mr X and his associates are concerned, this was all a war between their Columbian suppliers and themselves for not selling the large amount of coke that has been stolen over the last month. The feds do not have the capability or intelligence to know the locations of their hideouts and only the suppliers have this information. Mr X arranges the murder Don Nicholas in Columbia as revenge knowing that they will eventually find new product elsewhere.

The three cops know there is still more work to do but they have successfully broken down a large part of the syndicate organisation. They stand with honour as Chief Inspector Clark addresses the entire cities' police force from a podium outside their headquarters.

Clark: "Every day we get closer and closer to making our city a safer place. We continue to increase our efforts in eradicating corruption and drugs from Wood Oak City and I am pleased to say we have now reached records in the arrest of syndicate operatives. In doing so, we have shut down many of the cities' drug operations. Although we still have more to achieve, none of this could have been done without the help and dedication of our officers and our restructured senior team. My own Deputy Chief Thomas Bailey will oversee all of the three districts alongside myself from now on. We also commend our new team of district Captains who will be in charge of each of Wood Oak's territories. Captain Adam Hunter, now in charge of Wood Oak Green District, Captain Axel Stone of Wood Oak Central District and Captain Blaze Fielding of Wood Oak Red District. God bless us and our city".

The rest of the police force below salute as the three most powerful officers in the city stand side by side in their special ceremonial uniform, restoring order and creating a new era in Wood Oak Police Department.

 **To Be Continued.**


End file.
